Sight Beyond Sight
by Knightwood
Summary: An accident while re-decorating Jungle Karma Pizza leaves Lily's future uncertain. Will the effects of her injury be permanent? Or will she recover, perhaps having discovered something more about herself and one of her closest friends?
1. The Accident

Only just seen a couple of episodes of Jungle Fury (thank god for the net! Jetix STILL hasn't premiered the season in the UK!) and I loved it so much I decided to try writing a fic. Read and review, all comments are gratefully received, even constructive criticism.

**Legal: **Usual story, I do not own Power Rangers or any of the associated names, places, events etc. etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be considered purely the creation of the author.

**Rating: **T, may be mild adult themes, language and violence.

**Sight Beyond Sight**

Unusually for a weekday lunch time, Jungle Karma Pizza was closed. R.J had insisted that the restaurant needed to be redecorated and so had assigned the Rangers and Fran to the task. Casey was on top of a ladder applying varnish stripper to the woodwork, while Theo was re-covering the benches in the private booths. Fran on the other hand was finding out how much she really hated varnishing.

"I can't get it to stop coming out in streaks." She moaned as she slapped the crush carelessly around on the wall.

"Fran, I keep telling you, you need THIN coats." Theo reminded her for seemingly the thousandth time. He came over, grabbing a brush and dipped it into the tin, before scraping off the excess and demonstrating a couple of light strokes. "Like this, see?"

"Maybe you should do it." She suggested, adjusting her glasses. "I'm just not getting this at all."

"Letting you loose with a staple gun?" Theo chuckled. "Not a chance, you'd end up in the ER inside an hour!"

"I would not!" She shrieked at this reference to her legendary clumsiness.

"She's right." Casey chuckled from the top of the ladder. "She'd probably send one of us to the hospital."

As Fran was about to protest, all three were halted in their conversation as a fantastic, mouth-watering smell wafted in from the kitchen.

"Hey guys, lunch is here." Lily greeted them as she entered the room, carrying a fresh pizza. "I made us this especially."

"Meat feast?" Theo asked hopefully.

"What else do you eat?" Lily asked him. She set the Pizza down on the counter. "Come and get it guys."

"Thanks Lily, this smells greeeeaatttt…" Fran called out as she tripped over a piece of canvas protecting the floor from errant splashes. She fell into the ladder, sending it falling to the floor. Casey saw her just in time and leapt off it landing on his feet.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Lily saw the tin of varnish stripper falling from the ladder. She didn't know why, but she moved to save the pizza as it fell, but as soon as she'd made her move she could see the error of her actions. Striking the counter and spraying it's contents in several directions, some of the fluid sprayed straight into her face.

"My eyes!" She shrieked as she fell to the floor, clutching her face. She writhed on the floor in agony as it burned her eyes painfully. It felt as though her very eyeballs were about to burst into flames.

"Lily!" Casey called out as he grabbed her hands, forcing them off her face to get a look. Her eyes were already a little bloodshot and her skin was slightly red. He hoisted her onto her feet as Theo came to her side. "We've got to rinse her face!" He shouted as they rushed the unfortunate teenager into the kitchen. Fran came in behind them, beginning to cry.

"I'm so sorry Lily." She wailed as the guys got her to the sink.

"Fran, it was an accident. Stay back." Casey rushed out as they turned on the tap. RJ came in from the back room where his afternoon meditation had been interrupted by the commotion.

"What happened?" He asked as he saw them splashing water into Lily's face. Ordinarily he'd have thought it was just the guys being immature, but Lily's shrieking had assured him that something was seriously wrong.

"She got varnish stripper in her eyes." Theo told him. "We've got to get her to a hospital."

"I can't see!" Lily screamed as she finished rinsing out her eyes. "I can't see!"

RJ grabbed her face and looked into her eyes for a second, noting that they were now very red. "I'll take her in my car." He told them, placing an arm around her and leading her out the back door quickly. Lily placed her hands over her face again, by now her eyes were watering very badly. "Clean up in the restaurant."

Fran ran out of the kitchen, weeping hysterically. Theo ran after her to comfort the young woman. Obviously she blamed herself for Lily being hurt. Casey slumped down in the corner with a deep sigh. Right now, the restaurant was the furthest thing from any of their minds.

RJ arrived at the hospital a short time later, abandoning his car in the loading zone as he helped Lily from the car. Placing her in a wheelchair, a doctor rushed over to them.

"She got varnish remover splashed into her face." RJ told the doctor. "She complained about pain in her eyes and she said that she can't see."

"Wait outside the room." The doctor commanded him. "We'll take good care of her. We'll let you know in a little while."

RJ watched on as they rushed her away, his heart sinking in his chest. He'd only known the teens a short time, but they already felt like family to him. He was a Kung Fu master, and was capable of taking on almost anything, but right now all he could feel completely helpless.

Casey had begun clearing up when Theo returned. Casey crossed the room to where his friend had slumped down into one of the booths.

"Is there any news?" Theo asked. Casey shook his head sadly, taking the seat opposite Theo.

"How's Fran?" He asked.

"She's still pretty cut up about the whole thing, but she's calmed down a little." Theo replied. "How are you holding up?"

"I'll live." Casey said with a sigh. "I'll feel better when I know she's ok though."

Almost on cue, they heard the back door being unlocked. Going through into the back room, they found RJ helping Lily to the couch, they could tell she was crying, and as they approached, they could see why. A bandage was wrapped around her head, covering her eyes. Just above, and below the bandage, the edges of cotton pads over her eyes, secured in place with a little surgical tape could be seen.

"What did the doctors say?" Casey asked.

RJ pulled them away a little, before answering in a whisper. "The varnish remover caused some damage to her eyes. She has to wear those pads to draw out the residue for about two weeks before they can test her vision."

"But she'll be ok won't she?" Theo asked. "I mean, she'll get her sight back won't she?"

RJ shook his head sadly; his own eyes were a little red. Obviously he'd also been crying. "At this time they really don't know. It's too early for them to assess the damage." He turned to where Lily had slumped into the chair, sobbing a little as she clutched a cushion to her chest. RJ drew a bit closer, making sure she definitely couldn't hear his next words. He wanted her to keep her hopes up. "They said it's good that you rinsed out most of it, and that we got her to hospital quickly." He looked into their eyes as he prepared for the next part. "They'll know more when they test her in two weeks, but there is a chance her blindness will be permanent."


	2. Finding the Way

Lily woke up to disorientating darkness. Reaching across, she couldn't find her dresser, though she groaned as she remembered why. RJ had taken her bed and moved her into his room.

He'd made the decision for an entirely practical reason, given where his room was in the building; all she had to do to make it from the bedroom to the bathroom by herself was keep her left hand on the left hand wall. Getting up, she fumbled around to find the nearby table where RJ had left her replacement dressings. She had been told she needed to remove her dressing to shower, and had been instructed how to replace it. Picking up the packets, she edged slowly across the room, groping the air to find the wall.

She walked cautiously, dragging her hand along the wall. She manoeuvred her way around the room, finding her way into the back room. For some reason, it actually felt good to feel the surface change from the thick pile carpet of RJ's room to the varnished floor of the back room in her bare feet. She'd been there for months, but she'd never noticed that before! She was almost smiling as she finally arrived in the bathroom; she noticed the slight sponginess of the cork tiling on the floor.

She unravelled her dressing, and found to her disappointment that her vision was no clearer than it was before. She knew the doctors had told her to be patient, but this was her eyesight they were talking about, how dare they! How was she not meant to be impatient and frustrated by the fact she couldn't see? Hell, she loved dancing more than anything, how could she appreciate other dancers if she couldn't see them?

She climbed clumsily into the bathtub, before fumbling around for the shower controls and starting her washing ritual. As she finished her shower, she tried as hard as she could to focus, but still found she wasn't seeing anything any clearer and cursed her misfortune for having this inflicted on her. She felt around for a moment to find her towel and dried herself, before finding her way to the sink where she'd left her dressings. With a sigh of disappointment, she re-applied her dressing, and wrapped her towel around herself before finding her way back to her new room.

When she got there, she set down her towel, and found the back of her knuckles brushed against something lying on her bed. Picking it up and handling the item to figure out what it was, for only the second time she could remember since the whole nightmare had begun, she smiled. Someone had laid out an outfit for her. It wasn't much of a gesture, but for Lily, it was an important one. Her friends were there for her, and because of that knowledge, she was more determined than ever to beat this thing. At that moment she felt like she could beat anything and all she'd accomplished was taking a shower!

Fran was making her way to Jungle Karma slowly the next day. The usual enthusiasm and bounce was missing from her step as she headed towards the closest thing she'd ever had to a social scene. She had been going there on a daily basis since she began high school, and it felt like she had friends there. She felt safe and, most importantly, she didn't feel alone when she went there. So it was unusual that she was heading there while her mind tried to find reasons not to go.

When RJ had offered her a job, it was like a dream come true! She felt like she truly had a place where she was accepted, and her three new friends had accepted her for who she was without judging her. For the first time, she had a group of friends to hang out with, and as much as it annoyed her the way they constantly ran off every time their damn beepers went off and left her to run the place single-handed, she was always pleased to see them. That wasn't the case today.

She chewed her fingernails nervously as the restaurant came into view. Theo had chased her down the previous evening and talked to her at length about how what happened to Lily wasn't her fault, but she still blamed herself for what happened. 'If only I'd let Casey come down off the ladder! If only I had eaten breakfast and not been so hungry! If only I wasn't so obsessed with that damn pizza. If only she wasn't such a clumsy dumbass!' She kept torturing herself with these thoughts. She really didn't want to face the others, but she just had to know how Lily was, one way or another.

She rounded the door nervously, finding Casey and Theo sitting in a booth, eating breakfast. Theo got up, crossing over to hug her, making her feel a little better at having decided to return to the restaurant.

"How are you?" Theo asked her as he released her.

"I still feel really guilty." She replied. "How's Lily?"

Casey and Theo looked at each other nervously. They knew she'd want to check on Lily after what happened, but they were unsure how she'd take the news RJ had given them.

"Namaste!" RJ greeted her amid a dual sigh of relief from Casey and Theo. He was as worried for Lily's welfare as anyone, but he maintained his usual air of calm for the sake of the others. He knew his laid-back persona had a calming effect on the others, and made things easier for them to deal with. "Fran, I'm glad you came in today."

"I'm on the roster to work today." She reminded him.

"I wouldn't have blamed you for giving it a miss." RJ replied. "Are you alright?"

"How's Lily?" She asked.

RJ looked at the others, who simply shrugged. He knew it was down to him to tell her.

"Guys, could you give us a minute?" He asked. On cue, Casey and Theo left the room. He took her to a booth and sat her down, taking a seat opposite her.

"There was some damage to her eyes." He informed her. A couple of warm tears rolled down her cheeks as he said this. "She's going to wear a protective dressing for two weeks, and she'll be tested then."

"Tested for what?" She breathed. He could tell that she was completely rattled by what she'd heard.

"They still don't know how extensive the damage is." RJ told her, holding her hand a little tighter. "There is a chance that her eyesight will never return."

Fran collapsed onto the table, weeping hysterically. RJ moved around the booth, holding her closely, clearly she was taking it hard.

"Can I see her?" She asked, tears streaming down her face. She was in no state to do anything right now, and RJ knew it.

"She's still asleep right now." He replied. "I'll let you know when you can see her. In the meantime, go to the bathroom and clean yourself up, then get yourself some coffee and calm down." He cradled her chin with his hand, lifting her head so that she could look into his face instead of down at the table. "I'm already down one staff member. I could really use your help."

"Thanks." She responded, sweeping her face. "I'll go get cleaned up."

Theo and Casey went into the back room, finding Lily working her way through some sit-ups. She stopped briefly as they entered.

"Who's there?" She asked.

"It's me and Theo." Casey answered. "How did you know we were here?"

"The floorboards creaked." She told him. "I knew someone was here."

"What's with the major workout?" Theo asked her.

"I was awake anyway." She replied with the beginnings of a little smile as she resumed her sit-ups. "I can't work like this, so I figured it'd be a good idea to use the time productively for something."

"Well don't tire yourself out too much." Casey told her. "Don't exhaust yourself so much you don't give yourself time to recover. That's an order form the Red guy."

"I won't." She chuckled. "I'll just do another couple of hours and then I'll listen to some music. I really think the worst part will be occupying my time and not getting bored."

"Well I'm glad you're handling this so well." Theo commented, putting an arm gently around her neck as she completed another sit up, hugging her warmly. "I'm proud of you."

"Me too." Casey interjected. "You're the most determined person I know. If anyone can get through this, it's you."

"Thanks guys." She replied. "Anyway, you should get back to the kitchen. The ingredients won't prep themselves."

Almost on cue, their solar morphers bleeped.

"Fran's not going to be happy." Theo grumbled. "I guess it was a bit optimistic to expect Dai Shi to take a vacation."

Casey could see the look of regret on Lily's face, he could tell how much she hated the idea that she was being left behind. She'd have given anything to help them out.

"It's OK; we'll leave some of him behind for you." He said light-heartedly as he touched her shoulder. With that, they grabbed the vines and left through the tunnels. Lily switched her position and began thrashing out some push ups.

'I might not be joining the battle.' She thought to herself. 'But by the time I get my sight back, I'll be ready for Dai Shi.'

Camille returned to Dai Shi's fortress with a few fresh injuries, and considerably less Rinshi Warriors than she left with. She quailed in terror in front of her master, awaiting his inevitable rage.

"There were only two of them!" He roared. "You were defeated by only two of them!"

"They caught us unawares." She began with her excuse, hoping to escape with only a painful punishment as opposed to a deadly one. "Next time they will not be so fortunate. Please, give me another chance."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a second. "Why did the Yellow Ranger not accompany them?" He asked.

"I don't know." She replied honestly. "Perhaps she was busy with another matter."

"The only other time she's left her friends to battle by themselves was when she was retrieving the Jungle Mace from Master Phant."

"You think she might be searching for another weapon?" Camille asked.

"I don't know, but it would be prudent to find out." He responded. "I want you to go to their lair and see if you can find out what they're up to."

"You want me to go there?" She asked incredulously. "Sire, I don't know if..."

"You control the chameleon spirit." He reminded her. "Be creative."

With that, she changed form to look like a red-haired teenager and vanished from sight.

The guys came back from their battle just a bit before opening the doors for the lunchtime rush. Lily had grown bored of sitting on her own in the back room, so RJ had led her through to the restaurant. She had already paid for a few songs on the juke box, and had sat down in the booth closest to it.

"You're back!" Lily called out. "What happened?"

"It was just Camille and a few of her goons." Theo told her as he sat down. "Nothing huge."

"You didn't miss anything interesting." Casey reassured her with a pat on the shoulder. "So how was the workout?"

"It wasn't bad." She told them. "I really wish I could have done some dancing though.

"We'll clear the floor of the back room up a bit later." Theo told her.

"That would be a great help." She told them. Casey coughed a little as Fran approached them nervously. He could tell that she had only just gotten the chance to come and speak to Lily.

"Theo, remember you said you'd help me with that thing earlier?" Casey said, giving a gentle nod towards the kitchen. Theo got the hint.

"We'll see you later." He told Lily.

"What can I do for you Fran?" Lily asked.

"How are you feeling?" She finally managed to force out through the lump in her throat.

"I'm doing as well as can be expected." She replied honestly. "I'm still getting used to things, but I'm remaining hopeful."

Fran sobbed a little as she took Lily's hand. "I'm really sorry." She sniffed. "I know you must really hate me!"

"Fran, it was an accident." Lily told her, squeezing her hand gently. "You shouldn't blame yourself. I know you didn't mean any harm."

"I just really hate what's happened to you." She wailed. "I know you must be really angry."

"I won't lie to you; I said a few horrible things about you at the hospital." She responded, a couple of tears beginning to fall down her face. "But I was just angry and upset at what's happened to me. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me." She squeezed her hand a little. "I know how much courage it must have taken for you to come and talk to me. I appreciate it."

"Thanks Lily." She replied, wiping her face. "I really hope everything turns out OK."

"So do I." Lily answered. At that point, a red-haired Teenage girl walked in through the door.

"Our first customer just walked in." She said, getting up from the table. "I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Thanks Fran." Lily responded as she left. Fran approached the customer.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, how may I help you?" Fran asked her. Camille looked over to where Lily sat alone in her booth, noting the dressing around her head. She gave a little smirk.

"Nothing thanks." She replied, turning to leave. "I've got everything I need." Leaving the restaurant, she walked a short way before vanishing from sight.

Camille resumed her normal form, and dropped to one knee in front of Dai Shi.

"So, what are the Rangers up to?" He asked. "Why did the Yellow Ranger not fight today?"

"She isn't seeking any new technology, she's recuperating." She told him with an evil smirk. "It seems she's somehow lost her sense of sight."

"This provides us with an interesting opportunity." He mused.

"Shall I prepare another Rinshi Beast to attack the city?" Camille asked him. "While she is inactive, they will be unable to use her Zord to form the Jungle Pride Megazord."

"I am aware of that, but I have something else in mind." He responded coldly. "Take some more Rinshi warriors into the city to draw the other Rangers away from the lair. I'll take care of the Yellow Ranger."

"You plan to destroy her while she's helpless." Camille laughed. "That's brilliant master."

"Of course it is." He replied. "Now go. I will only need a short time."

With that, Camille disappeared.

"Man that was one busy lunch!" Theo commented as he gathered the last of the dishes from the final table. "We could really do with a few more days like this."

"Well we've got a couple of hours before we open for the evening rush." RJ commented, pulling on his jacket. "I'm going to the market for some supplies. You guys clean up."

It was only a couple of minutes after RJ left before the Solar Morphers bleeped. Fran groaned loudly as Theo and Casey ran out of the restaurant.

"I guess I'm cleaning up by myself AGAIN!" She grumbled. "I'll be back after I load the dishwasher Lily." She called out. She had barely got to the kitchen door before the room a couple of Rinshi warriors appeared either side of her, grabbing Fran and holding her in place. Dai Shi appeared next to Lily's booth and grabbed her roughly, yanking her to her feet.

"I see Camille wasn't lying about your condition." He hissed.

"Beating up a blind girl?" Lily yelled, striking him in the face. "Kind of a new low isn't it?"

"Leave her alone!" Fran shrieked.

"This is none of your concern." He called out, turning his attention back to Lily. He kicked her hard in the side of the face, sending her to the floor. There, he connected with a few kicks to her ribs before hauling her back to her feet. "Now Lily, I have a proposition for you. I can give you back your sight."

"Yeah right." She responded, struggling against his grip in a futile manner. "Why would you do that for me?"

He grabbed her shirt more tightly and pulling her closer. She could now feel his warm breath on her face. "I could destroy you right now, but I would prefer to have you with me. Agree to fight by my side, and I will restore your vision." Then, to complete her humiliation, he forced her into a deep kiss, and pie-faced her to the floor. She began to weep on the floor as Dai Shi laughed. Fran finally broke free of the Renshi Warrior's grip, and grabbed a wooden pizza paddle. Running at him, she brought it down across his head as hard as she could, snapping it over his skull.

"Leave her alone you disgusting creep!" She screamed. Her moment of heroism was as short-lived as it was pointless, as Dai hi barely even flinched. Turning around, he seized her by the throat.

"Your bravery is impressive." He chuckled. "But your intelligence is lacking." He threw her onto the floor beside Lily. With that, he disappeared from view. Fran pulled Lily into a deep hug as she continued to weep. For the first time in her life, she felt helpless.

Casey destroyed a couple of Renshi warriors with his Junglechuks as Theo was finishing off his own opponents. They rounded on Camille, shifting into a guarding stance. "Are we finally going to get a decent challenge today?" Casey asked her.

"Don't be so cocky." She sneered. "Dai Shi only wanted you out the way for a while. My mission's complete. Another day Rangers." With that, she disappeared.

"What did she mean by that?" Casey asked. Suddenly, his heart sank as he realised what she meant. "Lily! Come on Theo, we've got to get back!"

By the time RJ arrived back from the market, Fran, Casey and Theo were sitting around Lily as she slowly sipped some soda. From the state of the restaurant and the angry red streaks running down her cheeks, he could guess that something had happened.

"She's fine." Casey told him as he saw the look of concern on RJ's face. "She's just a bit shaken up."

RJ turned to Fran. "I'll not bother opening for evening service tonight." He told her. "You can go home."

"But what about Lily?" She asked.

"We'll take care of her." He reassured her. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Fran." Lily breathed as she was about to leave. "What you did for me really means a lot."

She kissed Lily softly on the cheek. "Call me if you need anything." With that, she pulled on her coat and left.

"What happened?" RJ asked.

"Dai Shi somehow found out about Lily." Casey explained. "He sent Camille and some Renshi warriors into the city to get us out the restaurant."

"Dai Shi paid me a little visit while the guys were out." Lily sniffed. "He beat me up for a little while, and then he told me he could restore my sight if I agreed to join him and help destroy you."

"Son of a bitch!" Casey roared, slamming a fist into the wall. "He's obviously messing with her head!"

"He didn't wait for an answer, but I'll never work for him." She sobbed. "I really want to get my eyesight back, but I'd rather be blind for the rest of my life than work for him."

"You will get our sight back." Theo told her, putting an arm around her. "I know you will."

"Even if I do, it won't be for a couple of weeks at least." She snapped, throwing off his arm. "And if today's anything to go by, he's not going to wait on me."

"Are you saying we should get a replacement?" RJ asked her.

"Not a bloody chance!" She roared. "He humiliated me! He tried to break my spirit! He tried to mess with my head and he tried to destroy my confidence!"

"So what are you saying?" Casey asked.

"I want a piece of him." She snarled. "Whether I can see him or not. RJ?"

"Yes?" He responded. She turned to face him.

"You remember one of our first training sessions you fought me and Casey wearing a blindfold?" She asked him. "I need you to train me to do that."

"I really hope I never have to teach you that." RJ responded. "You'll get your sight back."

"But I might not!" She snapped. "And Dai Shi isn't going to wait to find out one way or the other. Now, are you going to train me or not!"

RJ sighed and shook his head gently. "I'm probably going to regret this, but if you're really sure, then I will."

"I'm not doing anything right now." She responded, getting up. "Now, let's begin."


	3. Blind Rage

Lily hit the padded mats for what seemed like the hundredth time as RJ threw her across the back room. She quickly scrambled to her feet, resuming her guard.

"Stay calm." He reminded her as he moved slowly around the room. "You need to stay focussed to use your other senses to their potential."

"You can do it Lily!" Casey shouted to encourage her.

"I'm trying to concentrate." She reprimanded him. She listened intently for any indication of RJ's movements. There was a little creaking of floorboards, and every now and again the mat would emit a slight squeak as the soles of RJ's shoes dragged across it. Hearing a sudden rush, she threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding RJ's attack.

"You're getting better." He told her. "You're anticipating the attacks more, but you still have a long way to go. That's enough for tonight."

"I want to train longer." She complained. "I need to get this!"

"We'll train again tomorrow." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This will take time, and you still need to get some rest."

"I don't want to rest, I want to train!" She yelled. Theo came to her side, putting an arm around her.

"RJ's right, that's enough for tonight." He whispered.

"I don't want to rest!" She screamed, throwing off his arm. "I want to continue."

"I'm not training with you any more." RJ put down flatly. "We'll train again tomorrow, when you've had some time to rest, and you've calmed down."

"Casey, help me out. I need a sparring partner." She implored him.

"You need to chill out and get some rest." Casey replied. "I'm sorry Lily, but I'm with RJ on this one."

"Theo…"

"Not a chance Lily." Theo interrupted her. "You have to be calm and focussed for this to work. We'd just be wasting our time and risking you hurting yourself."

RJ took her hand as she grumbled at her friend's unwillingness to continue. "I'll take you to your room." He stated, and then he led her from the room.

"I've never seen Lily that intense!" Casey gasped as she left. "What's gotten into her?"

"You've got to realise, that she's taking Dai Shi's visit hard." Theo told him.

"But he didn't even hurt her that badly." Casey replied.

"That's not it." Theo explained. "She's lost fights before, and she's been hurt before, but Dai Shi's intention wasn't to hurt her. If he wanted to he could have done a whole lot worse. He wanted to humiliate her."

"I don't understand." Casey said.

"I've known Lily for years, and she's never felt helpless in her life. She's always prided herself on being able to stand up for herself and those she cares about." He explained. "Dai Shi shoved her around to make her feel weak and useless and I think she's taking it to heart."

"She's got nothing to be embarrassed about." Casey responded. "He attacked her while she was vulnerable."

"You and I both know she's got nothing to be ashamed of." Theo told him. "The question is does Lily know that?"

The next morning, the guys came into the back room to find Lily was already there, thrashing her way aggressively through some exercises.

"You're starting early." Casey commented.

"I just want to make sure I'm warmed up by the time RJ's ready to train with me again." She answered, completing some squats.

"It looks like you've been here a while." Theo stated, noting her sweating quite badly.

"I've been working out for a little while." She answered. "Are either of you guys up for some sparring?"

"We'll practice with you later." Casey promised her. In reality he'd prefer for RJ to take care of this training for her, he knew RJ would have a better idea of her limits. "Right now, I need to heat the ovens."

"I've got to go to market." Theo informed her. "RJ forgot the bananas yesterday."

"RJ forgot the bananas?" Lily inquired, seemingly unconvinced. "Then why did his hands smell of bananas when I was sparring with him last night?"

"I should have known." Theo chuckled. "Later."

"Later guys." She called out as they left. Hearing the door closing behind them, she got up and made her way over to the stereo and switched on some music. It felt good to feel the vibrations through the floor. She carefully made her way onto the sparring mat. As long as she remained on the slightly spongy surface of the mat, she knew she wouldn't bump into anything. Then, for the first time since the accident, she began to dance.

Fran arrived in the restaurant, finding the guys just finishing setting up. She had wondered how much they'd get done after straightening out the restaurant after the attack the previous day, but she was impressed.

"You got everything ready!" She called out. "Here was me thinking you'd have left it to me again."

"Fran, I'm really sorry about the fact we keep leaving you in the lurch." Theo told her. "We've got important duties…"

"I suppose saving the city from all those monsters really is more important than taking a few orders." She interrupted him. "Or preparing ingredients, that's what I'm here for."

Casey and Theo just stared at her for a minute. "What are you talking about?" Theo asked her.

"I figured it out guys." She explained. "It's OK, I won't tell anyone, and at least now I don't think you keep ditching me when there's work to be done."

"Uh Fran, I don't know what you're getting at." Casey lied.

Fran looked at him unconvinced. "Let's look at the evidence shall we." She began. "All three of you used to run off every time someone attacks the city. Then, Lily has her accident, following which the Yellow Ranger's no where to be seen, but you two continue to run off every time those beepers go off and a monster's attacking the city."

Casey and Theo looked at each other in a way that just sort of screamed "Busted!"

"Finally, that creepy guy shows up here and attacks Lily and offers her back her sight if she fights for him." She concluded. "You guys forget, I read a lot of books."

"Theo started chuckling a little as he made his way over to her, placing an arm around her. "I'm impressed. We really have underestimated you haven't we?"

"It's alright, everyone does." She answered nervously, as her cheeks began to flush a little. Casey went into the kitchen to avoid his laughter being seen and heard by the others. He could tell that Fran was enjoying the chance to have Theo putting his arm around her. "I guess I just kind of disappear into the back ground."

"Well you shouldn't." Theo told her. "The way you stood up for Lily took a lot of guts, I'm proud of you. I didn't know you had it in you!"

"How is she by the way?" Fran asked, trying to look into his eyes, but she was too nervous to do so, so her eyes ended up hovering somewhere in the region of his neck.

"Physically she's fine." Theo sighed. "A little bruised up, but she was so angry and upset last night. I've never seen her like that."

"Well I suppose she's upset about the kiss." She shot out. "I wouldn't be I mean I suppose I'd prefer it…"

"Fran!"

"…If my FIRST kiss wasn't forced on me…"

"Fran!"

"…Of course I doubt it's Lily's first kiss, I mean she's so pretty…"

"Fran!"

"…and funny and confident that everyone loves her…"

"Fran!"

"…But it would be my first, of course I'm such a geek I doubt anyone would want…"

"FRAN! For the love of GOD shut up and breathe!" Theo yelled. "What are you talking about? What kiss?"

"Didn't Lily tell you?" Fran asked him. Theo shook his head. "When the big creepy guy was attacking Lily, he forced her to kiss him."

"She never said anything about that." Theo breathed. "That must be what's upsetting her."

"After he left, I couldn't get her to stop crying for ages." Fran informed him. "She only stopped crying a little before you guys came back. She was hysterical."

"I need to tell RJ." Theo shot out. He turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks, and a grin crossed his face as he was about to go. "Oh and Fran?"

"Yes Theo?" She asked.

Theo took off her glasses, and cradling her chin with his hand, he pulled her into a soft kiss. She stood in front of him with her eyes shut for a second, still in a complete dream world as her heart pounded faster. "Who said that you're not pretty or that no one would want to kiss you?"

"Uh..."

"You're pretty amazing. A lot of guys would love to go out with you." He told her. "Don't let anyone tell you anything different."

Fran watched him go in search of RJ, barely able to breathe and slumped down into one of the booths in a daze. Had that really happened? Had Theo really kissed her? Had he really complimented her and called her amazing? No one had ever made her feel that way. She bit her lip as she thought about him.

She'd had a crush on him almost as long as she'd known him; she became even clumsier and even more closed off any time he was around her. It almost tore her apart when she found out he had a standing date with Lily, but she'd since found out that was only a friendly thing. Apparently there was nothing between Lily and Theo, and she couldn't remember him having any dates.

She sighed and dropped her forehead to the table. What was she thinking? Theo was so smart and cool and good looking. What would he want her for? No, obviously the kiss and the compliment was just a thank you for helping Lily.

'Why can't Lily get attacked more often?' She thought to herself.

RJ was in the back room training with Lily again, taking her through the finer points of fighting without using her eyesight.

"Remember, eyesight is a bonus, not a necessity." He reminded her. "You can use all your other senses. Notice how the vibrations from the floor can give away movement."

He darted forward, throwing a couple of punches in the direction of her head. Lily managed to avoid them, though she was still pulling away too far to allow her to counter.

"Listen for any sound. The rumpling of clothing, footsteps, heavy breathing, a battle cry, all of these things can alert you to an opponent's location."

He threw another couple of attacks, which Lily avoided. He then took off his shirt to eliminate the noise from that. He shifted as slowly and quietly around as he could to confuse her.

"Also, your skin can detect the inrush of air caused by an attack; even your sense of smell can locate an enemy." Shifting around a little more, he rushed her once more. This time though, she didn't avoid it, and he threw her to the floor with a thud.

"Damn it!" She screamed, pounding a fist on the floor as she hauled herself to her feet.

"Remember, focus." He told her. "You're already way ahead of where I thought you'd be. I had been training for over ten years before I was learning this. Don't get disheartened because you got hit, it's a part of learning." RJ noticed Theo waving him over from the door. He took Lily by the shoulders and guided her over to the wooden man in the corner.

"Work on some punching and blocking drills until I get back." He told her. She turned to face him, and the look on her face told him she wasn't convinced. "The same principals apply, you can use sound to find it's location." He tapped one of the bars, causing it to rattle loudly. "I'll be back in a little while."

He left the room with Theo, heading into the kitchen.

"RJ, there's a couple of things you should know." He began. "Firstly, Fran knows."

"Fran knows?" He asked him. "Did you tell her?"

"No, nothing like that, she figured it out for herself." Theo explained. "She also told me something about last night that might explain why Lily's been acting so strangely."

"What happened?" He asked.

"When Dai Shi attacked her, he forced her to kiss him." Theo told him. "I think he did it to get inside her head, and I think it worked."

"She definitely hasn't been herself since then." RJ conceded thoughtfully. "That's what she must have meant when she said he humiliated her."

"She's always been such a strong, independent person." Theo stated. "I think being made to feel vulnerable has really taken it out of her."

"I'll go and talk to her." RJ responded. "Thanks for telling me." He stopped for a second and turned back to him. "Are you wearing lip gloss?"

Theo wiped his mouth as he returned to the restaurant.

RJ came in to find Lily hammering away at the wooden man, striking it repeatedly with her fists and forearms, hammering it harder and faster as she continued.

"Lily, I know what Dai Shi did to you." He told her. As he approached, he could see a few tears rolling down her face as she continued to strike the training equipment.

The memory was so vivid to her. She'd managed to get one shot to his face, but that was more by luck than design. It was the only shot she'd managed to get. The bruises on her cheekbone and across her ribcage burned as she remembered each and every blow he inflicted on her.

"There's nothing to feel ashamed about." He told her. "You couldn't have fought him then, that's why I'm training you this today."

Her tears came a bit more readily as she started going faster and harder. By now her hands were a virtual blur by this point. She could remember his warm breath on her face as he drew her close. She had tried to struggle as he pulled her closer, she knew what was coming next, but he was to strong for her, she couldn't stop him.

She remembered the sensation as he pressed his lips to hers. There was no warmth in his kiss. No tenderness, no emotion, no passion. She felt cheap, violated, used! After forcing her to kiss him he had literally cast her aside like a cheap, worthless toy. She'd never felt bad about herself a day in her life, but at that point she felt completely helpless. She was powerless to stop him. She knew there was nothing she could do, and more than anything that made her angry.

RJ watched as she continued. "You need to calm down. This is what he wanted." He told her. "He wanted to get inside your head."

His expression slipped as he noticed a patch of blood on the wooden man. She's struck it so many times and so hard, that she had split her knuckles.

"Lily, stop you're hurting yourself." He implored her. More tears streamed down her face as she ignored him, continuing to hammer into the equipment. RJ reached around her, grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms into her chest, and held her in a tight embrace.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked, struggling to break free, though RJ had locked her securely in his grasp. "Let me go!"

RJ brought her to her knees, at which Lily broke down and wept. He released her wrists and held her tightly. Having heard the commotion, Casey and Theo came into the room, finding her weeping hysterically in his arms.

"Her hands." Casey breathed, noting her injuries. Her forearms were now completely red raw and her knuckles had split open, slowly leaking bright red blood.

"Get the first aid kit." RJ ordered them. "Now!"

They both left the room, leaving RJ to comfort her. She now felt worse than ever. She'd thought that training in fighting blind would help her get past what happened to her, but she hadn't dealt with it. She hadn't talked through her problems; she hadn't worked through her issues. She howled with frustration as she realised the one thing she didn't want had happened.

In this round at least, Dai Shi had won.


	4. Working Through the Pain

"This will sting a little." RJ warned Lily as he prepared a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol. He had sent the guys away while he tried to tend to Lily. It had taken him almost an hour to calm her down enough to worry about tending to her self-inflicted injuries. Lily barely even reacted as he began cleaning up the wounds on her knuckles.

"Do you mind telling me what that was meant to accomplish?" He asked her. "Hurting yourself isn't going to change anything for the better."

Lily sat silently, barely even registering his presence in the room.

"I can continue to train you if you'd like, but doing so when you're like this would only serve to put you and your friends in danger needlessly." He continued. Finishing with her right hand, he gently took her left and continued to clean her cuts. "Is that what you really want?"

Lily gently shook her head wordlessly. The last thing she'd ever want is to put her friends in jeopardy. She thought focussing on her training was helping, but every time she threw a punch, she imagined Dai Shi on the other end. Every time she found herself on the floor, or being struck by an attack the memories of what Dai Shi did came flooding back to her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" RJ asked her. "We're your friends, you can trust us, and you know we'll always be here for you."

Lily hung her head low as he continued to talk to her soothingly. He cradled her chin and lifted her head slightly, sweeping away a tear with his thumb. "You didn't need to go through this alone. We'll help you"

"I didn't think anyone would want to help me when they found out how weak and pathetic I am." She whispered as he started to slowly wrap her hands in bandages. "I don't deserve to be here. I don't deserve your help."

"What are you talking about?" RJ asked her. "You're by far one of the strongest people I've ever met! You were one of the students Master Mao personally chose to guard Dai Shi's spirit!" He said reassuringly as he finished binding her hands. "You earned your place here over hundreds of other suitable candidates. More importantly than all of that, you're our friend. We'd never abandon you."

"I'm a failure." She sniffed, hanging her head once more. "I've failed as a Ranger, and I've failed as a guardian of Dai Shi's prison."

"What could possibly make you think that?" RJ asked.

"I couldn't stop him." She answered in a barely audible whisper. "I've trained for most of my life to be able to defend myself, and the one time it matters, I can't do a thing. I'm meant to save the world from him, and I can't even stop him kissing me!"

"He took advantage of you when you were vulnerable." RJ said softly, putting an arm around her. "No one blames you for losing that battle. You shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

"I'm nothing." She breathed gently. "He just manhandled me and threw me aside like the worthless…"

"You are NOT worthless." RJ interrupted her. "You can't think that for one second."

"Please, even FRAN did a better job of defending us than I did." She sniffed. "I don't deserve any of this, and all of you deserve better than me."

"The only thing you've said that I agree with is that you don't deserve this." RJ told her. "What's happened to you over the past couple of days isn't fair. Someone as kind and caring as you deserves better. Just know that you will always deserve to have your friends caring for you."

RJ held her close, pulling her head into his chest as he tried to comfort her. It tore him apart to see his friend like this. She was always such a strong, confident and cheerful person. Even following the accident she'd impressed him with her strength and courage as she struggled to cope with her injury. He had to dig deep into the spiritual strength he'd built up through years of training and meditation to remain strong for her. Inside, however, nothing could hurt him more than seeing how Dai Shi had torn the heart right out of her. He'd give anything to be able to give that back to her.

In Dai Shi's fortress, Camille was pacing impatiently. She had found out that Lily was still alive. The questions burned in her mind. Why had he not destroyed her when he had the chance? Why had he not yet ordered her to take another Rinshi Beast into the city? With the Yellow Ranger incapacitated, this was the best opportunity they'd received to finally destroy the Rangers and claim the world as their own. Dai Shi watched her pacing the room, becoming increasingly irritated by her presence.

"Do you have something on your mind?" He asked her. He cast a burning, evil gaze over his underling, causing her to recoil a little in fear. She wanted some answers, but she knew better than to dare question her Lord. At least now he had invited her to ask questions, now all she had to do was find the best way to ask without rousing his fury.

"My Lord, I do not mean to question your plans," she began nervously, "but the Yellow Ranger still lives."

"Your point being?" He asked menacingly. Camille turned away from his gaze as she struggled to find the best way to satisfy her curiosity without suffering his wrath.

"It's just that while she is vulnerable, surely this is the best time to destroy her." Camille suggested quietly. "Without her, they will not be able to form..."

"I am aware that she controls the Cheetah Spirit." He interrupted her with a savage tone in his voice. Camille almost fell to the floor as he roared at her. "However, there are others who can control the Cheetah Spirit."

"But sire..."

"There is more than one way to destroy a person." He interrupted her protest bluntly. "The greatest strength any warrior has is his heart." Camille smirked as she heard his reasoning.

"So what is the alternative?" She asked.

"If we destroy her, they will find a replacement, but their feelings of vengeance will only lend strength to their will to fight." Dai Shi explained as though he were addressing a simple child. "The Yellow Ranger is the heart of their team."

"So why not destroy her?" She asked.

"If we dispose of her, they will only find another Pai Zhuq to take her place." He told her coldly. "That is why I intend to destroy her mind and her heart. When I visited her last night I offered her the chance to join us in return for her eyesight."

"Do you really expect her to join us?" Camille asked him.

"It doesn't matter." He chuckled. "If she joins us, the others will not have the heart to destroy her and she will be their downfall."

"If she doesn't?" Camille asked.

"By the time I've finished with her, she'll have no spirit." He responded. "Her friends will be so disheartened by her descent and torment that they will lose all heart for battle."

"Either way we win." Camille remarked. "Sheer genius." As she made to leave, she stopped as one last thought crossed her mind.

"Of course, you're just playing with her hopes." She mused. "Either way, once she's served your purpose she will be destroyed like her friends."

"Do not concern yourself with my intentions." Dai Shi told her. "They are none of your concern. Once there is some purpose for you to serve, I will let you know. In the meantime, content yourself...somewhere else."

Camille turned sharply on her heel and left the throne chamber as quickly as her dignity would allow.

Theo and Casey were happily unloading the dish washer, the last of RJ's monster list of chores. Casey was chuckling slightly as he looked at Theo.

"Do you realise how red Fran turned when you put your arm around her?" He asked. "I think someone has a groupie."

"Fran?" Theo asked. "I know she likes hanging around, but she's always been like that."

"You do realise how unconvincing you sound, right?" Casey laughed. Neither of them noticed Fran using her spare key to return to the restaurant. She had left one of her books behind and come to collect it. "You played her for information on Lily, didn't you?"

Fran heard this and quietly made her way to the kitchen door, listening in on the conversation.

"Shut up!" He protested. "Of course I didn't play her."

"So how come you knew?" Casey asked him.

"Fran told me." He replied.

"Before or after you put your arm around her?" Casey teased him.

"Alright, she told me AFTER that, but I wasn't playing her."

"Oh, so you deny that the reason we bumped heads so much early on was because you had a thing for Lily and thought I was making a move?" He asked. "Or that you'd do anything for Lily?"

"Now that's just a low blow, you know I'd do anything for Lily." Theo said. Fran felt like a sledgehammer had been slammed into her chest. Unable to breathe, she dropped her book and ran from the restaurant in a flood of tears. "You also know that while I did have feelings for her at one time, we're only friends."

"Whatever man." Casey responded.

"Would it make any difference if I told you I was into someone else?" Theo snapped, by now losing patience with Casey's grilling.

"Really? Who?" Casey asked. "Let me guess, that hot girl from the copy shop that did our last lot of flyers?"

"I think that would be you." Theo responded. "She's blonde and has less upstairs than a bungalow, that's more like your type."

"Ouch, that's harsh!" Casey commented. "True, but harsh. Maybe that brunette that comes in every Thursday and always sits at one of your tables?"

"No, if you must know, it's someone I've only started thinking about recently." Theo told him. "Someone close by."

"How close?" Casey asked. "Is it the delivery girl who brings the morning paper?"

"Try working in here." Theo told him, blushing a little.

"But you said..." Casey suddenly stopped in his tracks as he realised what he meant. "Fran?"

"What's so surprising about that?" Theo asked.

"Fran's nice and all, but she's just...well...Fran!" Casey tried to explain his point of view. "Really?"

"Don't sound so dismissive." Theo told him. "Have you ever seen her out of this place? I have, she's really smart and funny and pretty..."

"Fran? Pretty?" Casey pressed him.

"Is that all you think about?" Theo asked him. "This whole thing's got me thinking about her even more. She's a lot smarter and braver and more caring than anyone gives her credit for."

"But she's just..."

"If you say she's just Fran one more time, I'm going to kick your ass." Theo retorted semi-playfully.

"Have you said anything to her?" Casey asked him.

"Not really." He replied awkwardly, stroking his neck nervously. "You see, I'm not...I mean..."

"You've never gone out with a girl!" Casey surmised.

"I've been in Pai Zhuq since I was 8 years old." He answered. "It isn't exactly a hot dating scene."

"So Mr. Cool is finally nervous about something." Casey chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Man, I never thought I'd see the day. Well you did manage to put an arm around her, that's one thing at least."

Theo didn't answer; he just collected a garbage bag from the trash can without the word. Casey pointed at him in a knowing manner.

"No smart-ass comeback! Something else happened didn't it?" He shouted with excitement.

"I kissed her." Theo told him. "She seemed to take it well. When she told me about Lily, she mentioned she'd never been kissed, so I thought I'd, you know, grant her wish."

"Did she say anything?" Casey asked. Theo shook his head.

"It was my first time too." He responded. "I guess I wasn't that good."

"Well, I have to tell you, she was the same shade as RJ's pizza sauce when you hugged her." Casey told him, taking the garbage bag off him. "And in case you haven't noticed, she was floating around on cloud nine all night! I'd say it's a pretty safe bet she's into you."

"You really think so?" Theo asked him.

"I thought you were meant to be the brains of the team." Casey laughed, opening the kitchen door. "She's totally into you."

As Casey turned, he noticed the front door was wide open. "Theo, you did lock up right?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course I..." His words were interrupted by the crushing realisation as he saw the open door, and Fran's book on the floor.

"Aw crap!" Theo yelled out loud, picking up the book. "Fran was reading this earlier. I found it on the counter, so I left it there. She must have come back looking for it."His eyebrows shot up as he had the horrible thought. "What if she heard us?"

"It must suck to be you right about now man." Casey commented, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm being serious!" Theo snorted, shoving his friend away. "What if she heard us? What can I do?"

"Since she left so quickly she dropped the book and left the door open, I think it's safe to assume she did." Casey told him, hefting the garbage bag up. "So what I suggest you do, is the next time you see her, you talk very quickly and be very charming."

Theo slumped down into a booth, holding his face in his hands. He couldn't believe that just as he was finally coming to the point of plucking up the courage to say something to her, one careless conversation could have blown all of his chances.

RJ awoke, stirred out of his sleep by a movement in his arms. It was only then that he realised that Lily was still in his embrace. Looking around, he realised he was still on his couch, and he remembered. Lily had been upset about everything that had happened. She hurt herself on the training equipment, and he had soothed her when she was beating herself up over the whole Dai Shi incident.

It still pained him to think about how much he had taken out of her with that one gesture. If he wasn't such a peaceful man, he'd have been trying to think of ways to find Dai Shi and turn every second of pain he'd inflicted on her into an hour of pain for him. Looking down into her now-peaceful face, he decided it was best not to rouse her.

He slid as gently as he could from the couch, making sure not to disturb her, and gently picked her up, carrying her carefully through to her room. He wished he could fix everything at once, but he knew what she'd gone through would take time. No, for now he'd let her rest, and tomorrow could be dealt with then. She stirred awake as he was about to leave.

"RJ, could you get my book?" She asked him. He was more than a little confused by her request. "It's in the top drawer of my dresser."

He pulled out the drawer, finding the book at the top. It was a battered, slightly worn old paperback entitled "1000 fairy tale romances."

"I never would have picked you as the kind of person to be into things like this." He commented, handing her the book. She clutched it to her chest as she turned onto her side, attempting to go back to sleep.

"I've had it since I was a kid." She explained. "It always cheered me up when I was feeling down. It's the only thing I took from the Pai Zhuq temple when we left."

RJ sat on the edge of her bed and gently touched her shoulder. "It's important to keep mementos from the past." He told her. "We can't know where we're going if we don't remember where we've been."

"I always loved stories like this." She explained. "You know, princesses and heroes on white horses and..." Her voice trailed off as a few tears rolled down her face. "I always dreamed that one day it would happen for me."

RJ shook his head gently as he realised what she was saying. "You've never had a relationship." He surmised. Lily nodded her head to confirm this.

"The princess always gets saved; she always gets to kiss the hero." She whimpered as she continued. "I must have read that book cover-to-cover over a thousand times. Where's the story where the Black Knight grabs the princess and tonsil-hockeys her into submission?"

"I really wish your first time had been a pleasant experience." RJ answered softly. "It's not right that Dai Shi took that from you. You deserve better."

"Do I?" She asked. "Maybe this is exactly what I deserve. Maybe I did something terrible that I've forgotten about. Maybe this is..."

RJ shooshed her into silence as he pulled the covers over her. "Never think that for one second." He told her reassuringly. "There's only one person to blame, Dai Shi. He did this to you, just him and no-one else."

Pulling the covers around herself, she slowly drifted off to sleep. RJ took the opportunity to leave the room. He made his way towards the kitchen, finding Theo and Casey arguing about something. Knowing them he probably didn't want to know, it was likely to be something trivial anyway, his primary concern was Lily.

"I've just got Lily off to sleep." RJ told them sternly. RJ was generally laid-back to the point of comatose, so they knew when he spoke seriously it was time to listen. "It took me a long time to get her to settle down, so if you want to stay up for a while, fine. When you're ready to go to bed, do so quietly. If either of you wakes her, both of you are on 500 push ups, sit ups and squats every day before breakfast for a month. Am I making myself clear?"

Casey and Theo both nodded. RJ quietly made his way back upstairs followed closely by the others. They had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be no less trying.

Sitting in her bathroom, Fran still couldn't stop crying. She couldn't believe how much of an idiot she'd been. Of course Theo had used her to find out what was happening with Lily. Of 

course someone like him could never see anything in someone like her. She looked hopefully at the bag she'd picked up from the chemist, before glancing at herself in the mirror. She could see why Theo never had any serious thought about her. By comparison to Lily she was hideous! Of course he'd never see her in the same light, and why should he?

She noticed something on the sink. 'Another book.' She thought, launching it across the room aggressively. 'No wonder he won't look at me twice. I can't even stop the bloody geek thing in the damn bathroom!'

Tipping the contents into the sink, she picked up a packet of blonde hair dye, sweeping away some tears so she could read the instructions. She looked down on the disposable contact lenses in the sink, she sighed as she thought about it.

"He doesn't want me." She thought aloud to herself, taking off her glasses. "I guess it's time to stop being me."


	5. Identity Chrisis

The following morning, Lily rose slowly from her bed, feeling around her dresser for the drawer and putting her book back inside. She couldn't believe she'd told RJ about it. She had kept that book close to her for as long as she could remember, but she'd never told anyone about it before. It wasn't that she was ashamed or anything, she just didn't feel comfortable telling people about it. Usually she was too self conscious to risk people making fun of her because of her love of romantic fairy tales. She hadn't even let Theo see it, and she'd known him since they were kids.

This was different though. For some reason, she wasn't worried about RJ knowing about her book. She just knew he wouldn't say anything about it. She knew that Casey would likely have had some smart-ass thing to say, and Theo would probably enjoy teasing her about it for a while, but not RJ. He'd just told her that it was good to hang onto mementos of the past and left it at that. She couldn't help smiling as she thought about him; he'd been there for her more than anyone else since the accident. She made her way into the bathroom, and began preparing for her usual routine.

Unravelling her dressing, she blinked a few times as the light assailed her eyes. Her vision was a little better now. She still couldn't differentiate anything in any real detail, but at lest she was seeing something. Everything was fuzzy and blurred, with no real shape or form to it, but it was still something, and it gave her a little hope that her eyesight may eventually return. Unravelling the bandages on her hands, she felt around, finding where the bath was, and climbed in, before groping around for the shower controls. Beginning to wash her hair, she smiled again as she thought how good it would feel to tell RJ about what she had seen. For the first time in a couple of days, she actually had a reason to feel happy. She had hope.

Theo sat in the restaurant, staring intently at the cover of the book Fran had dropped the previous night. He knew she had overheard him and Casey talking about her, and he just hoped he hadn't upset her too much. It pained him to think about it, he had replayed the conversation over and over in his mind a thousand times since then. He cursed himself for allowing Casey to get to him. He wouldn't have said anything, but Casey had been pestering him about Fran for so long, it had seemed like the only way to get him to shut up and leave him alone. Casey came into the booth and sat opposite him.

"You know, it's the same book it was an hour ago." He said dryly as he sat down. "My guess is it'll still be the same book in another hour."

"Excuse me?" Theo responded, shaking himself out of his trance.

"You've been staring at the cover of that book since you got down here." Casey explained. "You know, books nowadays have these magical things called pages, and if you turn them, there's more writing than there is on the cover."

Theo put the book down and groaned loudly. "Do you suppose Fran will be back in today?" He asked.

"She's on the rota." Casey reminded him. The door opened behind him. "That'll probably be…" His words were cut off in surprise as he looked at her. "Fran?"

She had dyed her hair blonde, and straightened it, tying it neatly into a single pony tail which hung down from the back of her red cap. She had taken off her glasses in favour of contact lenses, and she was wearing a pair of large, gold hoop earrings.

"Hi Casey, Theo." She greeted them in a cheerful-sounding chirp. "Is the prep work done?"

Theo nodded wordlessly as he stared at her.

"You left this here." Casey told her, presenting the book to her.

"Thanks, but I'm not interested in that." She replied, waving off the gesture. "Anyway, I'll be in the kitchen."

She left the room, leaving Casey and Theo dumbstruck.

"Did you see…?"

"Yup." Casey interrupted.

"Is she trying to look like…?"

"Seems so." He interrupted again.

"Do you think that she thinks…?"

"I couldn't tell you what Fran's thinking when she's acting normal!" Casey told him. "There's no way I could understand what's going on in that head."

"What are we going to do about this?" Theo groaned.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Casey asked him, patting him on the shoulder as he got up to leave. "You broke her, you can fix her."

As Casey left, Theo placed his head on the table and started to wring his hands through his hair. He had thought he'd scared her off, that she'd overheard him telling Casey he liked her, but now he knew he'd hurt Fran's feelings. Even with that being the case, he'd never have anticipated her reacting like this. He tried to recall the conversation to see if he could remember anything about their conversation last night that she could have taken the wrong way. Suddenly he remembered.

"_Oh, so you deny that the reason we bumped heads so much early on was because you had a thing for Lily and thought I was making a move? Or that you'd do anything for Lily?"_

"_Now that's just a low blow, you know I'd do anything for Lily."_

Of course, now it made sense! She must have heard him say that and thought he had feelings for Lily! If she had just listened a little longer, she'd have heard him admit that he liked her. No wonder she was so upset, she must have thought he'd been stringing her along to find out what happened to Lily. Looking up, he breathed a huge sigh as he struggled to think of how he could get himself out of that one.

RJ was meditating in the back room when Lily had finished getting dressed, and came into the room. She could hear his chanting and knew he was there, so she took the opportunity to speak to him.

"Are you ready to train me?" She asked.

"I think it's more a case of if you're ready to train." RJ responded, without getting up or breaking his concentration on meditation. "Remember what I said, hurting yourself won't do anyone any good. If you can remain calm, then it'll be worth it."

"I'll be OK." Lily told him. "I'm feeling a lot better this morning."

"Did your book help?" He inquired, by now giving up on meditation and turning to face her.

"It did." She replied, smiling broadly. "That and you talking me round helped out a lot."

"So you think you're over what Dai Shi did to you?" He pressed on, getting up and walking over to Lily, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head gently and took a deep breath as she thought about it.

"I'm not over it," she told him, "but I do feel better about myself."

"That's the answer I was hoping to hear." He told her. "If you'd told me you were over it, I'd have known you weren't ready. Anyway, back to training."

With that, he led her over to the sparring mats. "Just remember everything I told you yesterday and concentrate. Master Swoop taught me a lot. It took me years to perfect this, and you're making quick progress. Just remember to have patience. It'll take time."

Lily pulled into a guarding stance and prepared for the first attack. RJ felt his own spirit lifting a little as he saw her smile. It had been too long since he'd seen her do that.

Theo was pretty much fingers and thumbs right through the lunch service, constantly fumbling the pizza dough as he tried to concentrate. He kept looking over to where Fran was rushing around, trying as much as possible to look casual, though she was failing miserably. She would occasionally bump into a table or a customer, and quickly apologise before glancing over to Theo and smiling as she acted as though it hadn't happened. If it wasn't for the fact he felt so guilty about making her feel bad about herself, he'd have found the display quite funny.

His thoughts drifted away for a second as he daydreamed about her. People often commented on Fran's clumsiness, and her nervousness, but that was just part of who she was. He always found it funny, and even a little cute the way she'd take half an hour to say what most people would say in a single sentence. She was more than a little twitchy, and she had wrecked the kitchen more times than the other tree combined, but she always found a way to bounce back. She constantly impressed him with the way she could look on the bright side and rebound no matter how embarrassing a situation she found herself in.

His thoughts were snapped back to reality as an almighty crash brought everyone's attention to the middle of the room. Fran had somehow tripped over, knocking over an entire table. She pulled herself up from the floor, grabbing a cloth and beginning to clean up. She was clearly flustered, the customer who just had his order knocked into his lap was clearly unhappy.

"I'm so sorry; I'll clean that up right away." She rushed out apologetically as she started clearing up.

"Are you blind or just an idiot?" The customer roared, getting up from his seat. "I've got meetings all afternoon, look at the state of my suit! I need to go home and change!"

"I'm really sorry sir." She whimpered, her eyes sparkling a little. "I'll just get this and…"

"NO, you'll get me another waiter!" He snarled, closing in on her. "How can you knock over an entire table? Are you a complete moron? It's amazing you can get yourself dressed in the morning?"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Theo asked as he arrived, placing himself between the customer and Fran defensively.

"You can get rid of that useless lump for a start!" He yelled. Fran ran from the restaurant in tears before Theo could get a chance to stop her.

"My colleague will replace your order on the house." Theo told him, getting out a business card and handing it to the irate customer. "Please just send us the bill for the dry cleaning; I'm really sorry about this." With that, Theo also left the restaurant. Casey threw up his arms as he watched him go.

"Now I know how Fran feels." He grumbled.

RJ found himself on the floor having just had his legs swept out from under him. He chuckled a little as Lily cheered herself with excitement.

"Do you realise how long it took me to even TOUCH master Swoop, never mind put him on the mat?" He laughed. Lily extended a hand to help him up.

"Your spatial awareness is improving." He told her, noting that her hand was positioned almost perfectly in relation to him. Taking her hand, he hauled himself to his feet. "I take it you knew by my voice."

"I was able to guess where your head was." She replied. "Shall we go again?"

"I think I'll just let the bruise on my butt recover a little first." He responded, rubbing his throbbing backside.

"Listen, thanks RJ." Lily began, reaching out a hand to find the sofa. She eventually found it and sat down. "For everything I mean, not just the training."

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help out a friend in need?" He replied.

"Listen, the guys don't know about my book." Lily told him. "I'd appreciate it if that remained between us."

"It's none of their business." RJ reassured her. "Besides, even if they did find out and start teasing you about it, having roomed with them for two days, I've already found out some embarrassing habits I could reveal."

"It sounds like there's a story there." She laughed. "I guess everyone has their own embarrassing little secrets."

RJ took her hand in his and drew a little closer. "Between you and me, I have probably the world's largest collection of cartoon DVDs." Lily laughed a little as he confessed this. "We all need to satisfy the inner child once in a while."

"RJ, I'd also appreciate if that other thing I told you stayed between us." She continued as she started to turn a little red.

"Again, it's none of their business." He told her. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I just thought some people would think I'm lame or something." She continued.

"You just haven't found the right person yet." RJ stated. "You will when the time's right."

"Thanks RJ." She responded. "Now, has that butt of yours healed up any?"

"I guess we could go for another round." He groaned as he led her back to the sparring mats. "Just try not to dump me on my ass so hard this time."

In his fortress, Dai Shi assembled a dozen Renshi Warriors in his throne room.

"We have given the Yellow Ranger enough time to think." He told them. "It's time for us to hear her decision. Go and bring her before me."

With that, they disappeared. Camille watched on from the shadows. She knew he had something planned for the Yellow Ranger, but so far he'd kept her largely in the dark about his plan. She decided to let events unfold for now. She needed to know what he was up to before she'd know if her position was in jeopardy.

Theo found Fran sitting on a bench in the park sobbing loudly. She took out her contact lenses and hurled them away as hard as she could.

"You shouldn't let guys like that get to you." Theo said, announcing his arrival. Fran tried to turn away to avoid his gaze.

"I couldn't see properly with the contacts." She told him. "That's why I kept bumping into things."

"Why were you wearing them anyway?" He asked.

She shifted away a little as he sat down beside her on the bench.

"I found your book on the floor; I know you heard what Casey and I were talking about last night." He confessed. "It's not what you think…"

"I know you'd never see me as anything more than the stupid, clumsy little bookworm who keeps messing everything up." She told him. "I can't help it if I've been crushing on you since you arrived, but you didn't have to use me like that. I'd just have told you what was happening with Lily."

"I wanted to know what was happening with Lily, but I never used you." Theo told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I heard you myself; you said you'd do anything for Lily." Fran snapped, whipping away her shoulder briskly. "You didn't have to lead me on."

"Fran, you only heard part of what I said." Theo continued. "I said that I'd do anything for Lily, but that's because she's my friend. It's nothing more than that I swear." He paused for a second as he tried to tell her the rest. "I told him I was into someone else."

"You are?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." Theo told her. "She's a clumsy bookworm who's simply the most amazing person I've ever met."

"Don't play with me." Fran sniffed, pulling a little further away. "You know how I feel. It's not fair to…"

Theo grabbed her and pulled her into a long, passionate kiss, separating after what seemed like hours. His heart felt like it was going to break out of his ribcage it was pounding so hard. "I've been into you for ages." He told her. "I was just too nervous to say anything."

"You were nervous?" She yelped a little incredulously. "But you're always so confident and cool and…"

"I've always been like that." He explained. "I've never been great at admitting when I'm afraid."

"What did you have to be afraid of?" Fran asked him, taking his hand.

"I was afraid you wouldn't like me back." He admitted. "When I kissed you before, I thought that you didn't like it. I thought I didn't do it very well."

"What made you think that?" She asked him.

"Well, you never said anything to me afterwards." Theo told her. "Plus, I don't really have anything to base it on."

"It was your first time too?" She asked him. Theo nodded his head. "Well you're a pretty quick study."

As she drew closer to him, he put up a hand to stop her. He took her glasses out of the front pocket of her apron and gently placed them on her face. "It's you I like." He told her. "You can kiss me again if you promise to wash that stuff out of your hair."

"It's a deal." She responded, pulling into another long kiss. The moment, however, was rudely interrupted as a dozen Renshi warriors suddenly appeared. As they grabbed Theo and yanked him away, Fran's glasses fell off.

"Get away from her!" He yelled as he saw two of them grab Fran. He pulled out his solar morpher, putting it on.

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" He yelled, morphing into Ranger form. He summoned his tonfa and began attacking Renshi Warriors left and right, but his efforts were in vain. The Renshi Warriors clearly weren't here for him. As soon as they grabbed Fran, they disappeared, leaving Theo alone with his pain. He'd finally managed to tell Fran how he felt, and now she was in danger. He'd failed her.

Fran found herself being manhandled roughly into Dai Shi's throne room, before one of the Renshi warriors grabbed her hair roughly, yanking her face up to face their master.

"You incompetent idiots!" He roared, unleashing his Lion spirit and destroying four of them utterly. "This isn't the Yellow Ranger!"

"My lord, perhaps something can be salvaged from this…mishap." Camille began, revealing herself. "I saw her when I went to their lair. She's friends with the Rangers."

"I know that, she's the one who tried to protect the Yellow Ranger." He responded.

"Well perhaps she could be used to send a message to the others." Camille suggested. "After all, a threat is most effective and creates the most fear if it's followed up."

"I like the way you think." Dai Shi laughed. With a wave of his hand, the remaining Renshi Warriors dragged the protesting Fran to the side wall of the chamber, where she was shackled facing the wall. She could see a vicious looking barbed whip appearing in Camille's hand and knew what was coming next.

Theo ran back into the restaurant, finding Casey tidying up after the lunch rush.

"Nice timing." He snapped. He looked around with a confused look on his face. "Where's Fran?"

"Some Renshi Warriors attacked us in the park." Theo explained. "They took her."

"I'll come with you." Casey told him. "We'll talk to RJ; maybe he knows a way to his fortress."

Rushing upstairs, they found Lily and RJ continuing their practice. RJ seemed to be impressed with the way she was able to anticipate her attacks. They were both distracted as Theo and Casey burst into the room.

"What's happened?" RJ asked as he noted the worried looks on their faces.

"Dai Shi took Fran." Theo told him. "Is there any way to get to his fortress?"

"Not that I know of." RJ replied. "What would he want with Fran?"

"He sent some Renshi Warriors, but he and Camille were nowhere around." Theo told him. "I think they confused her for Lily."

"Me?" Lily said questioningly. "Why would they think that? Fran looks nothing like me."

"It's a long story, but Fran dyed her hair and wasn't wearing her glasses." Casey explained. "We think they thought she was you and that's why they took her."

"Fran!" RJ called out, noticing the young woman walking into the room. She was moving very gingerly and appeared to have been crying. Theo rushed over to her, hugging her, though noticing her wince in pain as he did so.

"What happened?" RJ asked her. Wordlessly, Fran turned around, showing him her back. Her T-shirt had been shredded, and her flesh had been sliced open by numerous whip lashes. Casey almost balked at the sight, while Theo couldn't contain his anger.

"I want a piece of him." He snarled.

RJ held up a hand to stop him. "Fran, did he say anything about why he did this to you?" He asked.

"He said it was a message for Lily." She breathed in a barely audible voice. She had screamed her throat raw as she was being beaten. "He said he'll be back, and he expects an answer."


	6. More Training

Fran rose painfully from the bed RJ had offered to let her use the previous evening. Everyone had felt that allowing her to go home with the injuries Dai Shi had inflicted upon her the previous day would only lead to a lot of awkward questions, and so it had been decided it was probably best if she stayed at the restaurant for a couple of days.

She made her way to the bathroom, finding Lily making her way back to her room as she passed by. As much as she was in pain herself, she couldn't help feeling a little glad that the Renshi Warriors had confused her for Lily, and that Dai Shi still hadn't gotten his hands on her. As much as she was taking the whole ordeal better than she had been, Fran could tell she was afraid when she told her what Dai Shi had said. The thought of him returning had obviously had an effect on her, since she hardly said a word to anyone for the rest of the night. Of course, the thought of him coming back also terrified Fran; there was no way she wanted to go through that again.

"Good morning Lily." Fran greeted her friend, coming over to her and placing a hand on her arm to let her know where she was. "Can I borrow some of that conditioned shampoo? I really need to wash out this hair dye."

"No problem Fran." Lily answered, handing her the bottle. "How are you feeling?"

"It's only sore when I laugh." She told her. "Or move, or breathe."

"He really did a number on you huh?" She commented. "The only thing I don't understand is why did you dye your hair in the first place?"

Fran began to blush as Lily asked this, the whole incident was already embarrassing enough without Lily finding out she was trying to look like her. "It's kind of a long and embarrassing story." She remarked. "Do you mind if I keep it to myself?"

"Of course I don't." Lily answered. "Hell, I know I've got a few stories I don't want seeing the light of day."

"I guess everyone does." Fran told her. "Thanks for the shampoo; I'll bring it back later."

"Just leave it on the dresser beside my bed." Lily replied, making her way back to her room.

Later in the day, Theo and Casey were just preparing the last of the ingredients as Fran came in. Turning to face her, Theo smiled as he saw that she had indeed washed the dye out, and looked like herself once more.

"Now there's the Fran we all know and love." Casey commented as she came into the kitchen.

"Please don't ever change that much again." Theo told her as she made her way to the work surface.

"At least don't take your glasses off again." Casey chuckled. "It's bad enough when you can see properly. I don't think RJ would be able to afford all the comps and dry cleaning bills."

"Thanks guys." She responded with a nervous giggle. "So what's everyone doing today?"

"RJ's expecting a busy one, so he'll be helping me out front with the tables." Casey informed them with a grin. He gave a knowing wink to Theo just out of Fran's view. "I guess that leaves you two to manage the kitchen." With that, Casey left them with a little wry grin on his face. He hoped forcing the two of them to spend time with each other would encourage something to happen. Little did he know it already had.

"How's your back?" Theo asked her.

"It's still sore." She answered, trying to make it not seem as bad as it was. She didn't want him to worry, but she thought it was sweet of him to check up on her. "But I'll live."

"Look Fran, I know you didn't sign on for playing the girlfriend of a superhero." He began, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as he tried to find the words. "If you want out, I'll understand."

"Theo, my back hurts, but it will heal." She replied with a smile. "Besides, I think we really need to go on at least ONE date before we should consider talking about where we're going."

"I guess that can be arranged." Theo told her. "Would you like me to take you to lunch on Sunday?"

"I think I can manage that." She replied, pulling her hair out of her face. She turned back to the work surface and began grating some cheese.

Checking to make sure Casey had indeed left; Theo came up behind her and gently kissed her neck, before wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close, resting his chin on her left shoulder. Despite the pain from the many wounds on her back, Fran enjoyed feeling the warmth of Theo's body against hers and she smiled.

RJ had just finished his morning meditation when Lily came into the room. He had been worried by the fact that she had been so quiet the previous evening, but at least she seemed to be coping with everything more now. He was also impressed by how she'd been doing with her training. SO much so, he'd organised a little surprise for her.

"Lily, good morning." He greeted her. "Do you want more training?"

"Who's training me today, you or Master Swoop?" She asked.

RJ laughed as Master Swoop dropped down from the ceiling, intending to land directly behind her, though by the time he hit the ground, she'd already moved a short distance away and assumed a guarding stance.

"You weren't joking when you said she was making impressive progress." Swoop stated, throwing off his coat. RJ caught it and hung it up on the coat hook. "RJ told me what happened to you. I am pleased you've taken the initiative and decided to train in this technique."

"I felt like I had to." Lily answered him. "I mean, whether or not I get my sight back, it's not like Dai Shi's going to wait and find out."

"That's a noble attitude to the situation." Swoop complimented her, launching forward into an attack. Lily barely managed to block it in time, though RJ was already impressed with her reactions. Normally Swoop should have landed that one. "That's very good."

"RJ's been teaching me." Lily replied, beginning to move around cautiously, beginning to attune her senses for any indication of motion.

"RJ is an impressive master." Swoop told her, launching another attack. Lily again avoided the attack, though Swoop pulled away much too quickly for her to press the counter. "Though I'm beginning to think you are also an impressive student."

"She really is." RJ told him, continuing to watch with interest. He had always been impressed with Lily's passion, drive and determination, but the past few days since her accident and Dai Shi's visit, he couldn't help but be impressed with her learning curve. He hadn't lied when he told her it took him years to get to the stage she had in those few days, though he did have to concede that it was never a matter of necessity for him to learn the same way it was for Lily.

As he continued to watch, he marvelled at her balance, the fluidity in her movements, and the precision of her technique. She really had taken to the new style amazingly quickly, and he couldn't help but be impressed. He felt his heart skip a beat as Master Swoop finally managed to land an attack, sending her tumbling to the floor. Lily pulled herself back to her feet.

"How many moves does it normally take me to put you on the mat?" Swoop asked RJ.

"About four." He replied.

"It took me fifteen to land an attack on your young student." He commented. "Lily, are you alright to continue?"

"Of course I am." She answered, resuming her guard. "I'm not stopping until I put you on the mat."

"We could be here some time then." Swoop chuckled. "It took RJ nearly six years to accomplish that little feat."

"Well I've not got anything better to do today." Lily shot back. "Now, shall we continue?"

RJ watched them throw themselves enthusiastically into the match, following the action with a broad grin on his face. More than anything else that impressed him about Lily was her spirit. The way she'd forced herself through all the obstacles she'd faced so far. He had to suppress a small laugh as the thought came to him that she might just achieve her objective of knocking Master Swoop on his butt.

"RJ, the lunch rush is about to start." Casey called from the door. "You said you'd help, remember?"

RJ was a little torn at this, he really wanted to keep watching Lily and Master Swoop sparring, but he had promised Casey he would help in the restaurant. For some reason he hadn't figured out yet, he had told him they were expecting a particularly busy lunch rush and would need two people in the kitchen. Groaning loudly as he figured Casey's need for another pair of hands in the restaurant outweighed his desire to watch Lily and Master Swoop, he got up.

"I'll be in the restaurant if either of you need me." RJ informed them as he got up to leave. "Don't go too hard on her."

"Somehow I think she can handle it." Swoop replied as he narrowly ducked one of Lily's kicks. He tried to look nonchalant as he continued with the bout, but even he knew she was getting a little close for comfort. 'If she manages to put me down after only a few days practice, RJ'll never let me live it down.' He thought to himself.

Dai Shi paced the throne room of his fortress, contemplating his recent activities. He knew the Rangers would have found their friend by now, and that they would know that he was intending to come for the Yellow Ranger shortly, but they would have no idea as to when. No, he had to catch them off-guard. He had anticipated that they would now be reluctant to leave her on her own. No doubt he'd end up running into their master at very least. No, he had to find some way to draw their attention to force them to face him on two fronts, weakening their defence of Lily.

He mused for a while how he could accomplish this. After the previous attack, it was unlikely they'd send both of the remaining Rangers after a group of mere Renshi warriors. No, he had to find something that would force them to come out in force. An evil grin came to his face as the answer came to him. He now knew the perfect distraction to draw out the Rangers.

Fran was lost in her own little world of daydreams as she loaded the dish washer after the lunch rush. Theo handed her the last of the dishes, smiling as he realised that she was a million miles away. He always loved it when she was like that. "What fantasy land are you in right now?" He asked

"Oh, the usual." She replied. "Of course this time I'm actually getting to be the romantic lead in the story."

"You've never been the romantic lead in your own fantasy?" Theo quizzed her. "Surely that's where anything can happen."

"Oh, I really never thought about stuff like that." She admitted. "I guess I've spent so long being told…"

"You should never let what other people tell you get to you." Theo interrupted her. "You're amazing. Besides, fantasies are the one thing you should never let anyone take from you."

"Well fantasies are good." Fran replied, putting her arms around his neck. "But I'll take THIS reality any day."

They kissed briefly, before parting a little. "I have to get the takings into RJ's safe." Theo told her. "But we can talk more about this reality when I get back."

"I can't wait." Fran called after him.

He entered the back room, finding Master Swoop just finishing his training session with Lily. She seemed to have a look of disappointment in her face, but Swoop just placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I told you, it took RJ years to get me." He reminded her.

"I know." She sighed. "I just like to set my goals high."

"Well don't ever let that change." He replied, collecting his coat. "Keep practicing, you're doing fantastic. I'll let myself out." He made his way past Theo, though Theo found it odd that as he got close, a sort of knowing grin crossed his face. "It's good to run into you Theo, maybe next time I'll have the time to catch up."

"I'll look forward to it." Theo called after him as he left. He made a small detour on his way to the safe, stopping by Lily, who was doing a few stretching exercises to cool down.

"So how did the training go with Master Swoop?" He asked.

"It went pretty well." Lily answered, finishing off her stretching. She extended a hand for Theo to grab, and used it to help herself back to her feet. She also got a little grin on her face and chuckled a little.

"What?" Theo asked her, by now becoming confused.

"Oh it's nothing." She giggled. "At least nothing you don't already know about."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He pressed on.

"Theo, just put the takings in the safe." She told him. He began to walk away, before Lily shot out the next part. "Then you can tell me if Fran's a good kisser."

He stopped in his tracks as she said this. He turned around, looking round the room to make sure no-one else was there, though Lily already knew there wasn't. She had too much respect for her friend's privacy. "What makes you think…?"

"I could smell her perfume and the shampoo I leant her on you." She interrupted him. "So either something's happened between you and Fran, or there's something else you're trying to tell me."

He sat down on the couch next to her. "We kind of got together across the past couple of days." He admitted. "We haven't even had a real date yet."

"I suppose getting kidnapped kind of put the dampener on those plans." Lily teased him. "So, what's been going on?"

"When she told me what Dai Shi did to you, she started rambling in the way she normally does." He explained. "During which she mentioned she'd never been kissed. That didn't last much longer."

"So you got together then?" She asked.

"Actually no." He continued. "Casey was really getting on my nerves in the kitchen, and started saying that I used her to find out about you. I just kind of lost my temper and told him I liked her to shut him up."

"You told Casey?" She chuckled. "That was a stroke of genius."

"I guess it was." Theo agreed. "Anyway, Fran overheard and thought I had used her. There's a whole other story to what happened next, but basically she knocked over a customer's table and got screamed at pretty badly. She ran out of the restaurant and I followed her. Eventually I caught up with her and explained everything. That was when she got taken."

"Oh my god, that must have been awful." Lily said sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It was, I felt like I'd let her down." He told her. "I talked to Fran this morning to tell her I'd understand if she wanted out, but she told me she still wanted to be with me."

"Well I couldn't be happier for you." Lily replied, hugging her long-time friend. A short time later, RJ entered the room.

"Theo, haven't you put the takings in the safe yet?" He asked a little more sternly than he'd intended. Theo snapped back to his senses as he realised he was right; the bag was still at his feet.

"You can tell me more about it later." Lily stated as he got up off the couch. RJ came to the couch and sat down.

"So, how did training go?" He asked her.

"It went well." She responded with a smile. "I didn't manage to put him down, but I held my own mostly. He only put me on my butt about a dozen times."

"You must have impressed him." He replied, throwing his arm around her. "You're really impressing me. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks RJ." She responded, hugging him tightly. She felt her heart swell with pride as he congratulated her on her progress. She had impressed herself with how quickly she was learning, but it made her happy to know that she was making RJ proud.

Suddenly the alarm bleeped, alerting them to an attack in the city. Theo was closest to the monitors, and so he was the one to check the situation.

"What is it?" RJ asked him. "More Renshi?"

"It's better than that." Theo replied coldly, his eyes full of fury as he turned back towards them. "It's Dai Shi."

"He's attacking the city himself?" RJ said, looking a little confused.

"He's challenging us." Theo told him. "He wants us to go and face him."

"Take Casey and go." RJ ordered him. "I'll stay here with Fran and Lily."

Casey and Theo grabbed their vines and launched themselves into the tunnels, morphing as they went. Lily sighed as they left.

"You're not quite ready yet." He said soothingly, realising her disappointment at not getting to face Dai Shi herself. "When the time's right, I'll send you with them."

Casey and Theo arrived in the city centre, facing off against Dai Shi, who'd already taken on his armoured form.

"You'll pay for everything you've done to our friends!" Theo snarled, launching the first attack. Dai Shi blocked a couple of attacks before kicking him away aggressively. Casey was next on the attack, bringing his Junglechuks into play.

"You should never have laid your hands on Lily or Fran." He roared, striking Dai Shi several times. Staggering a little, the villain launched another barrage of attacks, sending Casey flying. Theo helped him back to his feet before they resumed the fight.

Fran was clearing out the rest rooms following the busy day they'd had. It was always her least favourite job, but since Theo and Casey were off fighting Dai Shi, it was down to her. She heard an ominous click from the main door to the rest rooms, and checking her pockets she realised she'd left the keys in the door. She rushed over and began pounding on the door and yelling, hoping that all that had happened was that RJ had thought she'd left and accidently locked her in. Of course, she couldn't shake that horrible feeling in the back of her mind that perhaps it was someone else. As her thoughts turned to Lily, she pounded even harder, hoping RJ would hear her.

RJ, however, was completing the stock take in the cold-room in the kitchen and couldn't hear Fran's pleas for help. The first thing he noticed was when the door swung shut, and he heard the scrape of metal against metal. Rushing to the door, he tried to activate the safety release on the inside of the door, but found that it wouldn't open. Someone must have jammed the 

mechanism from the outside. Now he too had the horrible thought. The guys weren't in the restaurant, and he was locked in the cold room, unable to help Lily. His heart sank as he thought about her in the back room by herself. If his suspicions were correct, he prayed what she had learned would allow her to hold her own until the guys returned. If not, she was a sitting duck! He sank down to a seating position and held his face in his hands as he prayed that she would be alright, and felt his heart fall to pieces as he realised he was powerless to help her.

Lily was sitting on the sofa listening to music when she became aware of another person's presence in the room. She got up, smiling a little as she made her way towards the door.

"Guys, is that you? Did Dai Shi give in that easily?" She asked. The other person didn't answer. The smile slipped a little from her face. "Fran, is that you?"

The other figure in the room moved around her, causing her to feel uneasy. "RJ, if this is some kind of joke, it's really not funny." She croaked, trying to disguise the slight note of panic in her voice. Her heart began beating a little faster. She prayed that RJ would come into the room as she realised that whoever it was, it wasn't one of her friends. "Who's there?"

Without warning, a powerful arm was wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides and a hand was clamped firmly over her mouth preventing her from screaming. Her heart raced and her breathing became rapid and panicked as she realised what was happening. A single tear rolled down her face as she felt his warm breath against her neck. His deep, raspy voice only confirmed what she already knew.

"I told you I'd be back." Dai Shi whispered. "Decision time Yellow Ranger."


	7. Decision Time

Lily squirmed against Dai Shi's grip to no avail as he held her tightly. She tried to scream to attract the attention of her friends, or perhaps some heroic passer-by, though his hand allowed nothing more than a muffled gurgle to escape her lips.

"The other Rangers believe they are battling me on the other side of town." Dai Shi taunted her softly as he squeezed her tightly, forcing air from her chest. "Your friends in the restaurant are indisposed. Believe me Yellow Ranger, we will not be disturbed. You are quite alone and completely at my mercy."

He leaned in close, whispering directly into her ear. "There's no point screaming, I could destroy anyone who's likely to come to help you. Nod if you understand your position."

Lily conceded her position and nodded gently as her tears began. Dai Shi slowly released his grip on her face. Her lips felt cold and slightly damp without the warmth of Dai Shi's hand over them. She tried to focus her breathing to return it to a normal rate as she assessed her situation. Casey and Theo were at the other side of town, and unlikely to return in time to help her. Dai Shi had already told her that Fran and RJ were incapacitated. It was then that the crushing realisation came to her. He was right, she was on her own!

"So, what's your answer Yellow Ranger?" He asked. "Will you serve by my side and regain that which was lost to you?" He gently stroked her cheek with a finger, causing her to shudder as an icy chill ran the length of her spine. "Or will you take your chances fighting against me?"

Lily pondered her position. She was blind, no-one was coming to help her, her training was incomplete and she didn't have her morpher with her. The situation seemed hopeless. What was the point in fighting? Dai Shi had more than enough power to destroy her!

What was she thinking? Was she even thinking of giving up? How could she possibly live with herself if she gave in to his demands? So many people had put their faith in her, Casey, Theo, Fran, Master Mao, Master Swoop and, of course RJ. She couldn't let them down, even if it did mean she would be destroyed. All she could hear in her heart was RJ's voice. How he never allowed her to give up, even when she was at her lowest ebb. His reassuring words when she felt like just accepting her helplessness. She recalled with fondness the night she'd hurt herself on the training equipment. He grabbed her and held her in his arms, those strong, caring, tender and reassuring arms that cocooned her and made her feel safe enough to just cry and release all of her pain, those arms that allowed her to feel anything beyond the isolation and helplessness of her condition. Her fists clenched and her muscles tightened as she thought where she was, what had happened.

'So many people have given me so much.' She thought to herself. 'I cannot, I WILL NOT let them down!'

She dipped her head, making Dai Shi laugh at her apparent submission. He did not laugh for long! She snapped her heap back quickly, smashing the back of her head into his face, forcing him to let go and staggering him. Hearing his snarl of pain, she turned on the spot 

and surged forward, slamming her hands into his chest and dumping him on his ass a short way off.

"You don't know me very well." Lily hissed as she adopted a fighting stance, her tears already streaming down her cheeks. "I will never serve you! I don't care if I'm blind for the rest of my life! I don't care if you destroy me! I belong to no-one, and there is not one damn thing that you can do that will EVER change that!"

"Oh I think you're wrong." Dai Shi stated, pulling himself off the floor. "You refused my offer, but that was only a ruse. You're coming with me one way or another."

"If you want me, you know where I am." Lily snapped, locating the gentle electrical buzzing of the light bulb. She whipped off her belt, whipping the bulb and shattering it, plunging the room into darkness. "Come and get me!"

Casey had put Dai Shi on his ass for a third time. Both he and Theo had equal will to see him destroyed.

"Let me do it!" Theo barked. "Let me do it for Fran!"

"Go ahead!" Casey replied, standing back.

"Call to the beast inside! Unleash the Jaguar!" Theo snarled, unleashing his animal spirit on Dai Shi. He should have been happy, but something wasn't right. They all knew that Dai Shi had control of the powerful lion spirit, but for some reason, he didn't call it forth. Theo's Jaguar mauled him savagely, casting him aside, injured, though still alive. That was not Theo's intention.

"He didn't try to defend himself." Theo remarked.

"This may be a moment of weakness." Casey yelled. "Call to the beast inside! Unleash the Tiger!"

As the tiger ran through Dai Shi with ease, even Casey found reason to feel suspicious. Theo was right, why would he not call forth his animal spirit to defend himself? He just needed one more test to confirm his suspicion.

"Both of us together!" He called out. Both the Tiger and Leopard charged towards Dai Shi, he threw his hands forward.

"Chameleon Spirit!" He yelled in a strangely feminine voice. As the spirit was dashed aside and Dai Shi collapsed to the ground, morphing back into Camille, Casey and Theo looked at each other in realisation.

"It isn't him!" Casey shouted. "He's tricked us again!"

"He must be going after Lily!" Theo shouted. "I hope RJ can hold him off."

"I'm not finished with you yet Rangers!" Camille sneered as she regained her feet. "The master ordered me to keep you busy while he deals with your little friend."

"Get a brain Camille!" Casey shouted at her. "If he does get his hands on Lily, what do you think will happen to you?"

Camille looked at the ground as she thought about what the Red Ranger had said. She had questioned Dai Shi's motives in her mind herself. "The master merely wishes to use her as a pawn to destroy you." She stammered, still unsure of how this would pan out. "I am, will always be his favoured servant."

"Is that why he kissed her?" Theo asked. The gambit paid off, Camille did not resume the attack, and instead she turned her gaze from her enemies. The rangers could almost swear they saw her shedding a tear as she heard this new information.

Lily panned the area for any kind of stimulation. She knew Dai Shi wouldn't be scared off by a little darkness, though she knew it would affect him more than it would her. While it didn't exactly even the odds, at least they weren't stacked so heavily against her. Hearing the footsteps rushing towards her, she threw herself aside and threw a hard kick into his midsection, scoring a telling blow.

"I see you've been studying the Swoop technique." Dai Shi chuckled, stroking his ribs. "Do you really think that makes you a match for me?"

"I guess we'll find out." Lily snarled, launching to the attack. Calling fourth the speed of her cheetah spirit, she hammered her fists into his face and body almost a dozen times before pulling away, leaving him shaken.

"You've learned well." He commented, surging forward. This time he was a little too quick for her, seizing her wrist and twisting it painfully. He brought his fist scything across her brow, knocking her to the floor, before placing his foot on the side of her head, pinning her to the floor. "You're just not good enough little girl."

Lily grabbed his ankle, throwing his foot off her, and turned sharply on the floor, facing up at him. She threw her fist upwards, catching her chosen target squarely. She pulled herself back to her feet as Dai Shi collapsed to the floor, nursing his injury as he writhed in pain.

Not bad for a little girl!" Lily sneered at him, resuming her guard. Dai Shi pulled himself off the floor painfully, and began walking off the last attack. "You're not taking me anywhere!"

"If you will not stand by my side as a servant, then you will kneel by my side as a slave!" He snarled, powering up into his armoured mode. He surged forward, slamming a fist into her gut, doubling her over and forcing her to her knees. Lily knew that in his armoured mode she was no match for him. Even with her morpher he was a powerful opponent in his powered up mode, without it, it was only a matter of time before he finished her off. "The pain can stop any time you want."

"Is this meant to be hurting?" Lily taunted him, hoping to buy herself time until her friends could discover Dai Shi's ruse and rescue her. "By the way, you're also a lousy kisser!"

"I guess you want a little more then." Dai Shi sighed, grabbing her hair. "Just remember, this can end any time you want."

Theo and Casey were rushing back to the restaurant as quickly as they could. Camille had lost all will to fight and simply fled after hearing that he had kissed Lily during the previous attack. As they raced to the restaurant, they could only pray that they weren't already too late.

Lily was thrown to the floor again, landing in a crumpled heap at the edge of the sparring mat. She pulled herself to her knees and tried to think of how she could escape this situation. Her right knee was just off the edge of the mat, finding the hard floorboards. Reaching her hand behind her, she found the rear of the mat behind her.

Of course, that was how she could buy herself time! She was on the bottom right corner of the mat, which meant that RJ's coat rack was only a couple of feet to her right. She remembered that on the night of her accident, her solar morpher was in her jacket pocket, and that Theo the neat-freak had complained about her leaving her jacket lying around and hung it up. Her morpher was almost within reach, she just needed to distract Dai Shi long enough to reach it. On her knees already, she dropped her shoulders and hung her head as she heard Dai Shi rounding on her.

"I give up." She mumbled. "You've got me."

"I'm glad to see you're finally seeing sense." Dai Shi taunted her, approaching slowly. A chain and a solid metal collar appeared in his hand. Approaching her, he pulled her hair clear of her neck. Lily tried hard not to quail at his touch as he placed a hand on the back of her head. "Now you belong to me." He leaned over her, stroking her hair. This was all she needed to locate him, now was her best chance!

Lily shoved him over onto his backside, before snapping to her feet and driving her foot solidly into his face. She threw herself to her right, knocking over the coat rack. Fumbling through the jackets, she finally found what she was looking for, and putting on her sunglasses, she activated the morpher.

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" She screamed, morphing into the Yellow Ranger for the first time since her accident. She called forth the Jungle mace, preparing to attack. Dai Shi shook loose the cob webs, and turned to face her.

"Do you really think this will help you?" He asked. Lily focussed on his location as he spoke. "You're only prolonging the pain for yourself. I call forth..."

He didn't manage to finish his call to the lion spirit as Lily slammed the Jungle Mace into his ribcage. She prepared to attack again as Dai Shi regained his footing.

Casey and Theo arrived in the room along with RJ and Fran. Seeing them arrive, Dai Shi realised that his opportunity to snatch the Yellow Ranger unopposed had passed. Powering down, the fury was obvious in his face as he realised he had failed.

"You will regret your decision Yellow Ranger." He snapped as he vanished. "You're still no match for me. You should have surrendered when you had the chance."

"Maybe not yet, but I will be." Lily yelled as she powered down. "And you're still a lousy kisser!" Realising that Dai Shi had gone; she finally allowed herself the luxury of collapsing, succumbing to the effects of her injuries. RJ caught her as she slumped towards the floor, holding her upright.

"I'll get the first aid kit." Casey rushed out, running from the back room as he de-morphed. Theo de-morphed and came to Fran's side, placing an arm around her shoulders and leading her from the room. "We'll finish off in the restaurant." He announced as they left the room. Dai Shi had locked up RJ and Fran before they had finished their chores. They already knew Lily was alright, RJ would take care of her. Right now, she probably wasn't ready for company anyway. Casey returned with the first aid kit. RJ took it from him and nodded in the direction of the door. Taking the hint, Casey left them alone.

"You weren't ready for him." RJ said reassuringly, anticipating her feeling bad about being beaten so badly. "He attacked you while you were vulnerable and..."

Lily silenced him by placing a couple of fingers softly on his lips. "I held my own." She told him. "I took as much out of him as he took out of me. If he comes back, next time I'll be ready for him."

"You sure will." He chuckled. "Something tells me he's going to be feeling more than a little sore tonight." He felt his heart lifting as he saw her smiling at him. Despite her injuries, despite her ordeal she was smiling. RJ hugged her deeply, allowing her to feel the warmth of his embrace. "Next time the Rangers are needed to do battle, you'll be ready to go with them."

Lily wrapped her arms around RJ, returning his embrace as she felt the sincerity of his words; he truly did have faith in her. Her pain melted away to nothing as he held her to his chest. Dai Shi had won the first round, but this time he had failed in his objective. More than that, he'd actually achieved exactly the opposite of his intended objective. Despite knowing she'd eventually have lost the fight had her friends not arrived in time to save her, she now knew she could defend herself. She no longer felt helpless or weak, she knew she was strong, and she had regained her sense of hope. The first round belonged to Dai Shi, but beyond a shadow of a doubt, Lily had won the second.

She rested her head against RJ's chest and took comfort in his heartbeat. While she was in his arms, she didn't feel helpless, vulnerable or alone. She felt warm, she felt safe and she felt secure. With RJ by her side, she felt like she could beat anything.


	8. Licking Wounds

Dai Shi found Camille sitting on the steps of the plinth leading to his throne when he returned to his fortress. As he approached, she looked up at him. Angry red streaks running down her face betrayed the fact that she had been crying.

"I held the Rangers as long as I could my lord." She whimpered looking at the man she had loved for millennia. He had changed form with each new host he inhabited, but it was the ancient, powerful soul of Dai Shi she had been in love with for all those years. Dai Shi gave her a hard, evil glare as he approached, still nursing his injuries from the battle with Lily, though more importantly, still feeling the depth of his humiliation at being driven off by her and her friends. He had underestimated Lily, and had paid the price as a result; he limped over to Camille, seizing her face roughly.

"What are these tears for?" He asked her in a low, sinister hiss.

"I failed you sire." She lied, trying to hide the true cause of her pain. She knew Dai Shi was well aware of how she felt about him, but she didn't want to believe that he intended to hurt her so cruelly. She tried not to let the image into her mind, but all she could see when she looked at him was Lily in his arms, Lily kissing him, taking what should rightfully be hers, her place by Dai Shi's side and in his heart. "I stalled the Rangers like you asked, but they were about to destroy me. I had no choice but to flee."

This last part was a complete lie. When Theo had told her that Dai Shi had kissed Lily, she simply lost all heart for the battle. She could barely breathe, let alone fight as the crushing loneliness washed over her in that moment. She just turned and left without another word, leaving the Rangers to return to help their friend. She couldn't believe that her loyalty, her devotion to her master had been repaid with such callous disregard for her feelings. Dai Shi sneered at her explanation and cast her aside dismissively, leaving her sprawled across the floor. She looked up at him, her tears renewed as a result of his rejection.

"Get out of my sight!" He commanded with authority, taking cruel pride in her humiliation. His ego was still smarting from his disastrous attempt to kidnap the Yellow Ranger, and he unleashed his frustrations on his underling to ease his own torment. "I do not tolerate failure. I shall deal with you later, but until I come up with a suitable punishment for you, report to the dungeon. Tell them I want you to feel the cost of failure."

Camille wiped her face and nodded gently, before turning and leaving with her head hung in shame. She had failed her master, and she knew she could expect to be punished for it, but she was already too hurt to care. He had already hurt her more than anything his servants in the torture chamber could ever come up with. As she made her way from Dai Shi's presence she knew that she would have to make up for her failure, and began to think, trying to find a plan that would serve both of her objectives, redeeming her in the eyes of the man she loved, and removing the competition for his affections leaving the path clear for her to be with him forever. Somehow, she had to rid herself of the Yellow Ranger once and for all. Only then would she have Dai Shi all to herself.

Dai Shi reflected on his failure as he watched Camille walk dutifully away to face her unjust punishment. The Yellow Ranger had embarrassed him badly, and he just had to make her pay. Until then, he'd have to make do with easing his own bruised ego. A sinister smirk came to his face as he thought about it. Camille was going to have a very unpleasant night.

Lily woke up the next morning, and felt every inch of every bruise on her body aching. Muscles she'd forgotten she had throbbed after her intense battle with Dai Shi. RJ had checked over her and satisfied himself that nothing was broken or dislocated. He assured her that nothing was torn, but the pain had been so intense, she wasn't sure. Just as was the case with Fran, it had generally been agreed that taking her to a hospital would only raise questions that would have to be answered, and so RJ had just checked that there were no serious injuries and given her a pain relieving herbal tea.

"Define a serious injury." Lily groaned to herself as she rose slowly and painfully from her bed. She had crashed out from her combination of exhaustion, pain and, she was certain, the medicinal effects of RJ's tea. Though she had no idea how long she'd been out, she was certain it was longer than the tea's medicinal effects, and the pain had returned with a vengeance. Collecting her spare dressings, she found her way to the left hand wall and once again made her way towards the bathroom. As she neared it, she could hear running water, and her nostrils picked up a sweet, soothing aroma. As she got closer to the bathroom, she realised it was coming from inside. She gently knocked the door.

"Who's there?" She asked. The door opened, and a hand was placed gently on her shoulder. Without him saying a word, the familiar scent of his deodorant gave him away.

"RJ, there's no need to rush on my account." She told him. "I was only going for a shower, I can wait."

"Actually I was just drawing you a bath." He informed her. "I've put some homeopathic remedies in there; it'll help you heal faster."

"Will it stop the pain?" She asked him. RJ gave out a sad little sigh as he looked at her. She had been so courageous the previous night, but in her current state, she looked so small and frail. Even the way she was standing, just a little slouched betrayed how much pain she was really in. He felt sorry for her, but he knew the bath would help.

"Some of the herbs have pain relieving qualities." He answered her. Lily smiled a little as he escorted her into the room, the bath did smell wonderful, and she trusted his judgement as far as the herbs were concerned, he knew so much more about that kind of thing than she did.

"Should I let the guys in first?" She asked him. "I mean I'd hate for them to be late opening the restaurant and…"

"The restaurant opened ages ago." RJ informed her. "You were out for a good 15 hours or so."

"Jeez, you're kidding." She gasped. "How did I sleep so long?"

"Your body's gone through a massive ordeal." He explained. "You needed the rest to recuperate."

"Are you sure it was nothing to do with that tea?" She quizzed him, smiling knowingly.

"I'd be lying if I said that didn't have an effect." RJ told her. He hugged her gently, being careful not to exacerbate her injuries before drawing away a little. "Enjoy your bath. I've got to go into town for a little while."

"Bring me back a magazine or something." Lily requested with a grin. It took RJ a second to realise she was joking.

"I'll see what I can do." He told her as he left. Closing the door, Lily began to get undressed and climbed slowly into the bath, feeling the warm, scented water begin to ease her muscles from the moment she stepped in. Slowly lowering herself into the tub, she leaned back, resting her head on the end of the bath, she had to concede the point. RJ was right, this DID feel good.

Fran approached Theo in the kitchen as he was preparing some pizza sauce to RJ's secret recipe. Coming up behind him, she covered his eyes.

"Is that you Casey?" He asked with a chuckle. "Look I keep telling you I don't feel the same way about you."

Fran removed her hands and slapped him across the back of the head, though giggling a little herself as she realised he was only teasing her. "Have you decided where you're taking me?" She asked him. "Date night is tomorrow."

"Well, we work in a pizza parlour, so pizza's out." Theo told her, turning to face her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Fran smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked deep into his eyes. "And there's nothing decent on at the movies, so…" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a card for a fancy French restaurant on the other side of town. "I guess Chez Marceau will have to do."

"You booked the table?" Fran shrieked. "I heard that place had something like a seven month waiting list for reservations."

"Usually it does." Theo told her. "But the manager held his daughter's birthday party in here, and he was so impressed, he gave me a big tip, and told me to call and drop his name if I wanted a table."

"Well it would be nice to eat somewhere other than here for a change." Fran commented. "I spend so much time here already, it wouldn't seem right for a date."

"Plus, RJ would probably never forgive us if we went to another pizza place." Theo carried on. "Are you looking forward to this?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She replied, pulling him into a long kiss. Casey walked in carrying dirty plates. His eyes shot open wide as he saw the scene unfolding before him.

"OK, I can see I'm in the way here." He remarked turning round and walking back out. Watching him leave, Fran and Theo could only laugh at his reaction. It wasn't like Casey to be so easily embarrassed.

Lily dried herself off after her bath, and wrapped her towel around herself. She knew the doctors told her to rest her eyes as much as possible to help the healing process, but she couldn't resist opening her eyes to see if there was any improvement. She still couldn't see clearly, but at least things were now a little clearer. She could now, on the whole, tell colours apart. Holding her hand in front of herself, she sighed as she realised she still couldn't focus on finer detail. Her fingers were kind of fuzzy, and seemed to blur into one, like a flesh-coloured mitten.

Sighing as she felt a little disappointed, she re-applied her dressing and made her way back to the bedroom. There, she found that yet again, RJ had laid out an outfit for her. She pondered the fact that she would be putting a lot of faith in him, since she couldn't see what he had laid out for her. Sure, they were her clothes, so he couldn't inflict THAT much damage to her street-cred, but it still occurred to her that he could, if he wanted to, pick a clashing combination of clothes as a joke.

Her thoughts quickly turned from that thought as she chastised herself for even thinking like that. RJ would never do anything to hurt her intentionally, and she knew it. He'd taken such good care of her; she knew he cared about her too much to pull anything like that. Without a second thought, she pulled on the outfit, completely confident in RJ's good intentions. Pulling on the T-shirt, she caught the faintest whiff of RJ's aftershave, and her mind drifted back to the previous night, and the feeling of warmth and security she felt in his embrace. She could recall every detail of that hug in vivid detail. The smell of the aftershave on his neck, the warm, soothing sensation of his breath on her hair as he held her to his chest, the impressive, toned musculature of his body pressed against hers, and the unusual feeling of both strength and tenderness in his arms.

She thought about the enigma that was her replacement master. He was a few years older than herself, that much she already knew, but there just seemed to be something unnaturally mature and wise about him. He had an aura about him that made him seem as aged and learned as Master Mao, yet he retained a certain air of youthful enthusiasm any time he was giving one of his long-winded and usually quite cryptic life-lessons that he usually did. At first, Lily had thought he was constantly high or perhaps had been in the sun a little too long, but over time, as she listened to him and got to know him, his lessons seemed to make sense, and didn't confuse her the same way they had at first.

It was then that she got the thought that in reality, she didn't even know how old he was. The matter had just never come up, how often does a person really ask one of their friends what age they are? She thought again about the unusual combination of strength and tenderness in him as her thoughts drifted away. She had seen him single-handedly defeat over a dozen 

Renshi warriors the first time she met him, back when she thought he was just a whacked-out pizza parlour worker, before she found out he was also a Pai Zhuq master. It was an odd thought that those same hands that were capable of dispatching Renshi Warriors and shattering cinder blocks with ease had healed Lily and her friends more times than she could remember.

She shook her head and tried to collect her thoughts, somehow bring her focus back to the here and now. Why was she thinking about him so much? It was true she was spending a lot more time with him recently than she normally did, but that was understandable. When he wasn't taking care of her, he was training her in the Swoop technique. She groaned as she thought about that. She was relieved when RJ had said they'd give her training a miss today due to her injuries. There was no way she felt ready to take that kind of punishment. No, she was glad for a quiet day to just reflect on her thoughts and make sense of everything that had happened over the last few days.

Camille had taken on a human disguise and made her way into Ocean Bluff to escape from Dai Shi's torment. She had seen a young, red-haired girl earlier in the day and had adopted her form to pass without suspicion through the city. Dai Shi's dungeon staff had treated her with their usual level of compassion, and Dai Shi had delighted in humiliating her for a large part of the night. When he tired of her and had dismissed her, she took the opportunity to leave the fortress to gain some respite from his cruelty.

Tears fell from her cheek into her lap, causing a dark patch to form on the denims the teenage girl whose form she'd taken had been wearing. She looked at her reflection in a nearby puddle, into the face that wasn't hers and cursed herself for her weakness. It was small wonder Dai Shi hadn't embraced her love as she had his; she was weak and pathetic, weeping like a mere human. It pained her deeply within her heart that not only had she failed to carry out her master's request to keep the Rangers at bay, but more than that, she had actively betrayed him.

She hadn't failed to carry out his orders because they'd overpowered her; she simply surrendered and let them leave so that he would fail in his attempt to capture Lily. She had allowed her enemies to focus their attack on the man she loved because she was jealous of the attention he was giving a girl who by comparison was a mere infant! She had faithfully served Dai Shi for thousands of years, so why did he lavish such attention on a young girl who not only hadn't done anything for him, but had actively fought against him? Refused and denied him? Her attention was wrenched from her sorrow as a familiar man sat on the park bench next to her, placing his grocery bags on the ground as he took the weight off his feet. He turned to look at the young girl, a look of concern crossing his friendly face. She couldn't believe it, but he actually felt sorry for her. It was a unique feeling to Camille that someone would actually consider her feelings.

"What's got you so upset?" RJ asked her, gesturing to her tears. Camille wiped her face and looked back at him.

"I'm alright." She responded, clasping her hands in her lap. RJ looked at her unconvinced.

"It is one thing to drown in an ocean that nature has created." He remarked, offering her a handkerchief. "It is quite another to drown in an ocean you have created for yourself with your own tears."

She took the handkerchief from him, smiling at the gesture. She knew he was her enemy, though it felt strangely good to have someone actually give a damn about her. "I've been having trouble with a man I love." She told him.

"People shed far too many tears over love." RJ responded. "Tears are a sign of sadness, not love."

"I've been with him for…years." She continued, looking into the puddle. "I've done so much for him; I love him more than I can say."

"What happened?" RJ asked her. Camille continued to stare into the puddle at her false face.

"I've failed him a number of times." She replied. "He asks me to do things, and I…I fail. I try, I really try so hard, but sometimes I just fail."

"No one is successful all the time." RJ said soothingly. "I run a pizza parlour, and I've had my share of disasters. One time I actually tried out one with M&Ms as a topping. I lost four regulars after that little disaster."

Camille laughed a little at this. "It's just that, the man I love, Da…Dan, he really gets angry when I mess things up. He shouts at me, sometimes he hurts me…"

"Then it doesn't sound like this Dan deserves you." RJ interrupted her. "Sadly, not everyone deserves the love we offer them."

"But I love him." She reiterated her point, glaring at him through her tears. "I can't just stop loving him."

"Sadly that is also true." RJ told her. "Of course, sometimes all we need is the strength, to realise when staying with one we love is more harmful than the pain of leaving them." RJ looked at his watch, realising that he had spent more time there than he had intended to. He pulled out a business card for Jungle Karma and handed it to her. "I really should be going, but if you want to come to the restaurant, I should be able to get you a free slice or two."

"Thank you." She sniffed, accepting the card.

As RJ left the park, Camille inspected the card thoughtfully. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that an answer may come to her at the restaurant. Putting the card into the back pocket of her jeans, she wiped her eyes dry with RJ's handkerchief, and made her way towards Jungle Karma Pizza.

Casey managed to corner Theo in the Kitchen later in the afternoon, finally able to bring up what he had seen earlier.

"So you managed to patch things up with Fran I see." He commented, coming over to him and sitting on the work surface. "So, when did this all happen?"

"After she knocked over that table the other day, I managed to catch up to her and explain everything." Theo said as he recalled the incident. "Before Dai Shi snatched her, she told me she thought I was into Lily. She only heard half the conversation."

"So you told her how you felt." Casey concluded. "I'm really happy for you man."

"Thanks." Theo answered. "We're going on our first official date tomorrow night."

"That's great." Casey commented. "Where are you taking her?"

"Chez Marceau." He responded with a grin. "The manager said he'd get me a table."

"Chez Marceau? On what RJ pays us?" Casey quizzed him. "Brave choice, I hope you have plenty of cash."

"I just wanted everything to go right." Theo chuckled. "I'm sure RJ wouldn't mind giving me a few more shifts if it wipes out my bank account."

"Theo, something tells me that as long as you're there, Fran will be happy." Casey told him. "Now, have you got something to wear?"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Theo asked.

"You have been to the restaurant before, right?" Casey asked. Theo shook his head. "It's strictly black tie!"

"Crap!" Theo yelled loudly. "I don't have anything like that! Pai Zhuq didn't exactly have many socials."

"Relax, I'll help you out." Casey told him. "I'm sure we can find something of mine that will fit you."

RJ made his way back towards the restaurant with his groceries. He'd spent the day stocking up on snack foods in anticipation of the battles ahead. He always got hungry when he was nervous, and he knew that Dai Shi would probably be planning his next move since failing to claim Lily the previous night. He was certain it wouldn't be long before she'd have to do battle again.

He smiled as he thought about her. She'd been through a lot over the last few days, and he'd seen her at her lowest ebb. It pained him to see her hurting the way she had since Dai Shi's first visit, but she had begun to work through it all, an she was regaining more confidence and character by the day. She had always impressed him with her strength and her heart, but now more than ever she had been through more than he could ever have expected her to go through, and she had made it through the other side with the same spark and cheeriness he'd always liked about her.

He thought about the glow in her that morning. She'd spent most of the previous night having the hold living hell beaten out of her by Dai Shi, and yet she hadn't given up, not once. Despite having every reason to give up and accept her fate, she had fought with everything she had. She had every right to feel proud of herself. RJ was proud of her. He couldn't have felt anything else.

As he made his way through the streets, he found himself stopped in his tracks by an antique book store. Something in the window caught his attention. He smiled to himself as he thought about it. Lily had asked him for a magazine as a joke, but he knew this would mean so much more to her. Stepping inside, he felt his chest tighten a little as he grabbed the book from the display and approached the desk. It was pricey, but thinking about that bright, radiant smile he knew would greet him when he gave it to her, he knew it was worth it.

Camille arrived in the restaurant, finding a table near the window out of the way. As much as she was still disguised, she didn't want to attract too much attention to herself just yet. RJ arrived shortly behind her, recognising her in the corner. He sat down opposite her.

"I see you decided to take me up on that offer." RJ commented.

"I still haven't decided what to do." She replied. RJ held up a hand to stop her.

"I find it's best to make a decision on a full stomach." He said as he waved Fran over to the table.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, what can I get you?" She asked. RJ took the business card from Camille and handed it to Fran.

"She's had a rough day." RJ told her. "Get whatever she wants on me." He then noticed Lily sitting in the booth next to the juke box. Getting up, he placed a hand gently on Camille's shoulder, before leaving her to order.

"What would you like?" Fran asked. Camille shrugged, she'd never actually gone to a pizza parlour before, what did people eat? She looked to the table across from her and pointed.

"What are they having?" She asked.

Fran looked over. "Pepperoni pizza and Diet coke." She answered. "Would you like that?" Camille nodded. Fran left to process the order as Camille looked over to Lily's booth. RJ sat down beside her, handing her a plastic bag. Camille leant in closer to overhear.

"It's not exactly a magazine." RJ told her. "But I thought you'd like it."

Pulling the book out of the bag, she ran her fingers over the surface of it's cover. It appeared to be bound in leather, and in excellent condition. Her face lit up as her fingers traced the indented title on the front cover. 1000 Fairy Tale Romances.

"My book!" She yelped excitedly.

"It's an original copy." RJ corrected her. "I saw it when I was in town and thought of you."

Lily threw herself into an enthusiastic hug, beaming broadly. She kissed him on the cheek and held him tightly. Camille watched the display and her jealousy burned in her heart. It wasn't fair, this child was surrounded by friends who cared about her, and who she cared about in return and yet Camille herself was completely alone in her despair.

Looking again, she saw the huge smile on RJ's face at Lily's reaction to the present, and it only made her feel worse. What had Lily done to deserve such devotion? It was then that a thought came to her. As she continued to watch RJ and Lily spend time with each other, she realised that she'd found her solution. Now she knew how she could make Lily pay for everything she'd done to her. Soon, Dai Shi would appreciate her.


	9. Camille's Plan

Camille's mind was racing with a thousand ideas as she left the restaurant. She knew that the Yellow Ranger was strong, and nowhere near as vulnerable as they had originally thought, Dai Shi had confirmed that much. It appeared she had been training hard, and had surprised them with the quick progress she had made in the development of her ability. If Dai Shi couldn't defeat her that night, then Camille knew she would not be a match for her.

She wandered the streets, trying to think her plan through. Seeing the way Lily had reacted to RJ in the restaurant, she knew that she cared for him deeply, and surmised she could be easily manipulated into putting herself in harm's way if she believed he was in jeopardy. She just needed to find a way to get her alone and vulnerable so that she could put her plan into action and remove her rival for her lord's attentions, and placing RJ under threat was sure to lead her into a trap.

It pained her to leave her master, but she knew if she involved Dai Shi in her plot, then there was a chance the Yellow Ranger would be kept alive, and she was not about to allow that. No, this was a personal matter, one that she would have to resolve alone. For a start, if she was going to lure Lily somewhere she could dispose of her, then she had to find somewhere suitable that Dai Shi didn't know about. He had far too many loyal servants at the fortress to risk taking her there to destroy her.

Arriving at the edge of town, she found an aging manor house that had lain dormant for years. Only it's antique architecture and local preservation groups had saved it from being torn down and the land used for more profitable purposes. Slowly approaching the front door, she pressed it gently to assess it's strength. The wood had survived the worst of the weathering, but she knew it would be no match for her strength. Looking around to ensure no-one was looking; she forced it open, and slipped inside.

Despite the slightly decaying appearance of the house's exterior, the structure and the furnishings had endured incredibly well. Dust sheets covered the dark oak floorboards and the few remaining articles of furniture that the previous owners had obviously considered too cumbersome to take with them. Pulling off one such dust sheet, she found a large, ornate leather sofa. Taking the opportunity to rest and think, she sat down and stared into space as her plan formed in her mind. She became aware of a slightly damp feeling in the back pocket of her denims. Reaching inside, she pulled out RJ's handkerchief. She'd completely forgotten she had it. She pondered it for a little while, thinking about the Pai Zhuq master who had given it to her. It was a comforting gesture offered to a complete stranger, someone who, as far as he was aware, he had never met before and most likely would never meet again. It puzzled her that he would take time out from his own life to approach and attempt to comfort someone he didn't know. It was then that she understood how the Yellow Ranger could care for him so much.

She still felt the warm, satisfying sensation from her stomach as she thought about the meal she'd just eaten, another gift RJ had given to a complete stranger just because he wanted to help. She'd never had pizza before, indeed she'd rarely given any thought to what she ate, she was a Chameleon. She'd taken the full pie and devoured it enthusiastically, taking immense pleasure in every sensation. The spices, the cheese, the salt, the sweet tomatoes and the warm, doughy base, she'd only ever eaten as a matter of necessity, so it was amazing to her that the whole thing could be so amazingly pleasant.

Of course, devouring an entire pizza single-handed had taken it's toll on her physically. She couldn't explain it, but her eyelids suddenly felt incredibly heavy. Camille figured that she was just tired and could use a rest, she stretched out on the couch, lying down and feeling the world just starting to slip further and further away as she drifted off to sleep.

RJ was in the process of clearing up the restaurant, and was about to turn out the lights when he realised that Lily was still sitting in her booth, listening to music as she cradled the book he'd bought her in her lap, under the table just out of sight. He suppressed a small chuckle as he noticed this. He still thought it was more than a little cute how much his simple gift had meant to her, and yet how she was still so self-conscious she was trying to hide it from the others. Crossing over to her booth, he was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but she smiled and greeted him before he got there.

"Let me guess, it's closing time?" She asked him. RJ laughed a little.

"What gave me away this time?" He asked her.

"Pepperoni." She answered. "You might want to wash your hands."

"I just finished wrapping the meat." He confirmed, helping her out of the booth. Lily placed the book carefully back into the plastic bag and held it to her chest.

"Thanks for this RJ, I really appreciate it." She told him as he led her from the room.

"You're welcome." He responded taking joy in the fact she was happy. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, he realised he still hadn't put the meat away. He took her right wrist and gently placed her hand on the hand rail.

"I left the meat out." He informed her. "I'll be up in a minute."

RJ collected the meat, carefully putting it into the fridge. Ensuring it was closed, he turned sharply as he heard a loud thud from the top of the stairs. Rushing up, he found Lily sprawled across the floor. He helped her to her feet, before retrieving her book and handing it back to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I just forgot to count the steps." Lily informed him. "I tried to use a step that wasn't there."

"Well you have got a unique talent there." RJ teased her. "You're the first person I've known in a long time to fall UP a set of stairs."

Lily laughed and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow as he led her through to the bedroom.

"I'll leave you to it." He told her, leaving the room. "Good night."

"Good night RJ." She answered, before getting changed for bed. Even when he was making fun of her, RJ could make her feel good about herself. It had been a little embarrassing falling on the stairs, but she got over it pretty quickly. She was just glad the guys hadn't seen anything, or she knew she'd be hearing all about it. After getting ready for bed, she picked up the book, carefully removing it from the bag, and handling it fondly once more, before opening the drawer of the bedside table, placing it inside. Just as she was about to remove her old copy, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and thought for a second. As a large grin came to her face, she put the tattered old paperback back into the drawer, and picked up the copy RJ had given her. Clutching it tenderly to her chest, she turned onto her side, and slipped off into a peaceful sleep.

Camille woke up, finding herself still in the old manor house. Noticing the sunshine outside, she realised that she had been asleep far longer than she had intended. She knew that Dai Shi would likely have noticed her absence by now, so it was already too late to avoid punishment upon her return. Figuring it was unwise to attract attention to herself too early, she instead began her plot to bring the Yellow Ranger to her destruction. The first thing she needed was the bait. She shifted form, making herself look like Fran, before heading off in the direction of Jungle Karma Pizza. She was sure this plan would work, and besides, once Dai Shi realised she avenged his humiliation at Lily's hands, she was sure he'd forgive her, perhaps even reward her.

RJ was setting up the restaurant for the lunch rush early on that quiet Sunday morning. He knew about the date between Fran and Theo, so he had allowed Casey to help Theo find an outfit while he set up the dining room. His attention snapped up from the table he was cleaning as Fran burst in the door in a panic, babbling completely incoherently. It was obvious something had badly upset her. RJ grabbed her and tried to calm her down.

"Fran, what's wrong?" He asked. "You're not due here for ages."

"I didn't know where else to go." She rushed out. "Outside, in the alley, I saw a big guy beating the hell out of that red haired girl we gave the free pizza last night."

RJ felt the rage burning inside of him as he charged out of the restaurant. "Tell Theo and Casey to mind the restaurant." He yelled as he left. Chuckling a little, Fran disappeared from sight.

RJ felt his breath leave him as he rounded the corner, finding the red-headed teenager lying on the ground, battered and bruised. She wasn't moving, and he couldn't even tell if she was breathing. He rushed to her side to check on her. She had told him that her boyfriend abused her; he figured he must have caught up to her and did this. Turning the unfortunate teenager over, he helped her up as she began to stir back into consciousness.

"I'm going to take you to a doctor." RJ told her, helping her to her feet. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Camille." She answered, stepping back from him and throwing a handful of mysterious dust into his face. RJ sank to his knees as his strength was sapped from him, and his vision blurred in and out of focus. He tried to call out, but his body just wouldn't comply with the request. Reaching out for his attacker, he slumped forward onto the ground as the last of his strength failed him. Camille came over to his side and took him by the wrist, before teleporting away.

Meanwhile, in the back room of the restaurant, Lily was working through a few exercises as Casey was helping Theo arrange his wardrobe for his date later that evening. RJ promised to do more sparring with Lily the following day, but still felt it was too early to get back into it after her fight with Dai Shi, of course since it would only be himself and Casey working in the restaurant that night, he wouldn't have had time anyway.

"Here, I think this is your colour." Casey remarked, throwing Theo a pale blue dress shirt.

"You have a blue shirt?" Theo quizzed him. "I thought you were the red guy."

"I did have a life before being a Ranger." He responded. "Just try it on."

"I'd consider washing off some of that aftershave though." Lily remarked from the corner where she was doing sit-ups. "I can smell it all the way over here."

"Really?" Theo asked, stroking his chin. "I only put on a little."

"Well it smells like you took a bath in the stuff." She reiterated her opinion.

"I'll just go wash some of it off." Theo answered, handing the shirt back to Lily.

"Ah young love, I remember my first date, don't you?" He asked. Lily tried hard to think of a way to get out of this one.

"Uhhh…Yeah, like it was yesterday." She lied, continuing with her workout.

"Her name was Pamela, and we went ice skating." Casey reminisced out loud. "She fell over a lot, and so did I. Often she fell into my arms."

"What age were you?" Lily asked.

"12." Casey answered.

"So why did you fall over?" She quizzed him, realising something odd. "I thought you said you played pee-wee hockey, you should have been a good skater."

"Yeah, but Pam didn't know that." He quipped, throwing a shirt at her head, catching her as she was rising from the floor.

"Oh, you are so dead!" Lily shrieked, picking up the discarded clothing and launching it back at him.

"I can see what RJ meant, you are awesome." Casey stated, removing the shirt from his face.

"As if there was any doubt." Lily quipped in return. It was at this point that Fran came into the back room.

"I thought you guys were going to dinner?" Casey asked her. "It's barely even lunch time. What are you doing here?"

"I was heading to the library." Fran replied. "I saw the door lying wide open. Who's meant to be in the restaurant?"

"RJ was setting up this morning." Casey told her. "I'm sure he was there somewhere."

"Not that I could see." Fran told them. "The restaurant was empty. I had to turn away a couple of kids who thought we'd opened early."

Puzzled by this, Casey rushed to the assortment of monitors that RJ had set up to maintain surveillance over the city, tuning one of the screens into the camera in the restaurant.

"Guys, you'll not believe this, come and have a look." He yelled, rewinding the tape.

"That's real helpful Casey!" Lily groaned sarcastically. "Why don't you just ask me to read today's specials while I'm at it?"

"Sorry Lily, I didn't mean anything by it." Casey replied beginning to describe what was happening on the screen. "Fran came in worried about something, then RJ left."

"I only arrived five minutes ago!" Fran stated as her eyes grew wider. "Before that, I haven't been in here since last night."

"Of course you haven't." Casey remarked, freezing the frame just after Camille teleported out of the restaurant.

"Guys, a description of what happened would be helpful!" Lily reminded them.

"It must have been Camille." Theo told her. "It looked like Fran, but she teleported out of the restaurant after RJ left."

Lily slumped into a chair as he said his, feeling her chest tighten and her stomach form into an uncomfortable knot. RJ would not have left the restaurant unattended for no reason, and if Camille was involved, then it couldn't have been good.

"Are you OK Lily?" Theo asked her, noticing the slightly queasy look on her face as her nerves got the better of her.

"I'm fine." She lied as her mind tried to comprehend what Camille could have hoped to gain by getting RJ out of the restaurant. Casey continued to scroll through the footage of the nearby security cameras.

"Camille re-appeared in an alley just down the street." Casey told them. "She then changed into another form and lay down on the ground."

He watched as RJ appeared in the shot, and rushed over to her side. "He helped her up, and then she threw something into his face."

"What happened?" Lily asked him. "What did she do?"

Casey watched the screen. "It looks like RJ passed out." He told her, and then he watched as they disappeared. "She's kidnapped him." He informed her. Lily could hardly breathe as she heard this news. Wherever she'd taken him, whatever her objective was, it didn't bode well for him. It was then that she wished she'd just let Dai Shi take her during the last attack. Clearly this was some kind of payback; she'd give anything to know he was safe.

RJ woke up, shaking loose some cobwebs, feeling a little cold. His head was pounding and his mouth was so dry, it felt like his tongue was sticking to the roof of his palette. He struggled as he found that his hands had been tied behind his back. Looking around, a heavy steel manacle was fastened around his left ankle, connected to a length of chain which was wrapped around some thick, heavy metal pipes. Looking around, he noted the tiled floor, and the mahogany units topped with marble work surfaces. Racks hung above them, holding numerous kitchen implements.

"Man, this reminds me of that party in Reno." He grumbled, pushing himself to his feet by supporting his weight against the kitchen units. "Or maybe it was that drinking session I had with Swoop in Monte Carlo."

"It was no party." Camille responded coldly entering the room. "Nor will it be if I don't get what I want."

"I really hate clichés, but I suppose I have to ask." RJ began. "What do you want with me?"

"It's not you that I want." Camille told him. "You're just the bait."

"You want to bring the Rangers here?" He asked. "I suppose Dai Shi and…"

"This has nothing to do with my master!" She roared, drawing close.

"So wait, you want to take on the Rangers by yourself?" RJ quipped sarcastically, sitting on a nearby stool. "With all due respect, that's not really a great plan."

"Who said I want all of the Rangers?" She asked menacingly. "The Yellow one will do just fine."

RJ's mind was still not clear of the effects of the sleeping dust, but he struggled to try and figure out where this was going. What would she want with Lily? He knew Dai Shi wanted her, but she'd already said this was nothing to do with him, so why did she have an issue with Lily?

"So I take it you're going to ask her to come alone or you'll kill me right?" He asked as casually as he could to disguise his fear for Lily's safety. He'd rather lay down his own life than be made to watch her suffer.

"I know it's not the most original plan," she responded in a casual drawl, "but it's kind of a tradition."

"What makes you think Lily will come alone?" He asked. Of course he already knew the answer to that. She was caring and courageous to a fault, thinking nothing of her own safety when her friends were in trouble. It was one of the things that he admired most about her, though at that point in time, he cursed her for it. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

"Call it a hunch." She sneered. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Could you untie my hands?" He asked her.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" She laughed in response. RJ lifted up his left ankle to present the manacle to her.

"I'm not exactly going to chew my own foot off now am I?" He replied, though he had to concede that it didn't sound like too bad a plan at that particular point in time. What was the cost of a foot if Lily was safe?

Camille was going to respond, but feeling his handkerchief in her hand, she remembered the kindness he had treated her with the previous night. She though about it for a while, and she had to concede that he had a point. It wasn't as though he was going anywhere. "I'm not carrying the key, and it isn't within reach, so there's no point attacking me." She snapped.

"I wouldn't think of it." He responded, turning around. Camille untied his hands, throwing the rope a good distance into the living room.

"There." She spat viciously, trying to maintain her air of menace. "I'll be back shortly. Don't try anything funny."

"Thank you." He replied. "I know you didn't have to do that."

She disappeared, leaving RJ in the room by himself. He pondered his situation thoughtfully for a while. She genuinely didn't seem to mean him any direct harm, if she did she'd have done something by now, and he noticed her getting lost in thought as he asked her to untie him. Something obviously bothered her about the whole situation. It was then that he remembered her playing with something in her hand. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, meditating momentarily to clear his thoughts and try to recall what it was. His eyes shot open as he realised it was the handkerchief he had given the red-haired girl the day before. Of course, it was her! She wasn't a girl upset about an abusive boyfriend; she was talking about Dai Shi!

'Fighting her won't do me any favours.' RJ thought to himself. 'Maybe it's time for a different approach.'

Camille teleported to the restaurant, before adopting a human form and going inside, where Casey and Theo were taking care of the lunch service. They had considered not opening at all, but they figured that if Dai Shi was going to make a move, then he'd let them know in good time, so it was best to keep the business running in RJ's absence. Looking around, she noticed Lily sitting in a booth by the juke box. She made her way to the booth directly behind her, before allowing her true voice to slip through.

"Don't turn around or draw attention to the fact I'm here." She hissed in a low voice so as not to attract attention. "You already know I have your master."

"What do you want with him?" Lily asked, recognising the voice as Camille's. Her mind raced to think what Camille would want from her. She prayed that Dai Shi simply wanted a straight exchange, her for RJ. Her blood ran cold as she thought of all the things that could have happened to him by now. "Is he alright?"

"He is alive and unharmed…for now." She responded. "You and I have a score to settle Yellow Ranger."

"You and I?" She asked. "I thought Dai Shi…?"

"This is nothing to do with my master." She whispered. "This is my own personal vendetta."

"If it's a fight you want, I'm ready." She said coldly, preparing to rise from the table.

"Not when the odds are so…uncertain." Camille responded. "Come to the old Manor house at midnight. Come alone, and without your morpher."

"What if I refuse?" Lily asked her.

"He will die." Camille replied matter of factly.

She contemplated her position as she considered her answer. She didn't know where RJ was, and most likely he would be being guarded in which case if anything happened to Camille, he would almost certainly be killed. Theo and Casey were in the restaurant, but if they intervened, she was sure Camille would give the order to execute. "If I do as you ask, do you swear you'll release him?" Lily asked. "If you swear he'll go free, regardless of the result, I'll do it."

"I have no quarrel with your master." Camille told her. "If you come, he'll go free once we've concluded our business.

Her heart sank and she was left desperately fighting back her tears as she realised that Camille was holding all the cards. She couldn't risk RJ's life by going against her wishes, she owed him too much. Feeling nothing other than the heartache at the thought of losing him, she took a deep breath as she made the only decision her heart would allow.

"I'll do it." She answered, hanging her head in defeat. Camille got up and left, feeling satisfied with the result. She had manipulated Lily into doing exactly what she wanted, and she'd done so by using her greatest strength against her. Her heart.


	10. Everything's Good With Pizza

Lily made her way back up to the back room as thoughts of all the wretched things Camille could be doing to RJ played on her mind relentlessly. She was slowly acclimatising herself to the layout of the restaurant, and could now mostly find her way around without someone to lead her, which was a good thing, since she really didn't want any of the others to see or talk to her since they would no doubt see right through her pained expression and not leave her alone until they knew what was bothering her, and she couldn't allow that. She was sure Camille meant what she said, RJ's life hung in the balance. No, this was one she had to handle herself. She made her excuses, saying she was tired and made her way to the bedroom, lying on the bed. She struggled not to think about the possibility of losing RJ, instead trying to focus her on her anger at Camille.

She reached into the drawer of the bedside table and took out the leather-bound book RJ had bought her, clutching it tightly to her chest as she pulled the covers over herself and pretended to sleep, all the while finding it impossible to halt the tears from falling down her face. She just couldn't lose him. Not now. He meant far too much to her. Fumbling with her cell phone, she finally managed to dial the number for the local taxi service.

"I'd like a taxi outside Jungle Karma Pizza at midnight to take me to the old manor house." She whispered softly, ensuring none of the others would hear her if they had strayed upstairs. They knew better than to enter Lily's room if the door was locked after a certain embarrassing, and for Casey painful incident that had occurred not long after they'd moved in. Hearing the operator confirm the request, Lily added one more thing. "Tell him not to sound the horn." She continued. "I'll be waiting outside."

Camille arrived back at the manor house with a satisfied look on her face. In just a few short hours, Lily would be coming to face her. She recalled the look of defeat on her face and the forlorn tone of her voice as she agreed to meet her demands. Without her eyesight, and without her morpher, Lily would be no match for her power. She mused as to how satisfying it would be to finally get her hands on Lily, to hurt her, make her suffer for everything she'd put her through, to…what's that sound?

Returning to the manor house, her thoughts were interrupted as she heard RJ in the kitchen singing, and assorted kitchen utensils crashing around. Making her way into the kitchen, she found him elbow-deep in hot, soapy water, washing the dishes. He looked up at her, smiling as she arrived back.

"Glad you made it." He remarked. "I was hoping you'd come back. I take it you've invited Lily?"

Camille nodded, slightly unnerved at the unusual behaviour. This man was being held captive by a woman who wanted to lure one of the people he cared about the most into a trap and destroy them, and he was washing dishes? RJ held up an almost-empty bottle of washing up liquid.

"Whoever lived here before must have been loaded and completely careless." He commented. "They left a lot of cleaning supplies behind, and they forgot to get the water board to shut off the water. Anyone could have been squatting here."

"What ARE you doing?" She asked, approaching cautiously. She couldn't fathom what his angle was. What did he have to gain by this? Was he planning some kind of trap? She glanced down to his feet.

"The manacle's still there." He informed her. "Unfortunately the previous owner didn't leave a blowtorch or a hacksaw."

"The key is still not within reach." She reminded him.

"I didn't think you'd be that foolish." RJ replied, removing a spatula from the sink and placing it on the draining board. "I just thought I'd clean up a little in here."

"What for?" Camille inquired, by now totally confused by the man's train of thought. Was he really a Pai Zhuq master? Did he not realise the danger he was in? Had he gone insane so quickly?

"It's just that I hate cooking in a dirty kitchen." He answered matter-of-factly. He turned to look at her with a bright smile. "You're meeting her at midnight, right?"

Camille nodded, still more than a little confused.

"Well, it's only six o'clock." He reminded her. "You'll be pretty hungry by then if you don't have something, and I know I'm starting to get a little hungry."

Camille stopped to think about this. Was he for real? He wanted to cook?

"I've made a list of some ingredients, and I was hoping you could get them for me." He told her, handing over some money, and a list he'd hastily written on the check pad he always carried with him in the restaurant. "I would go myself, but, you understand."

Camille nodded wordlessly, still completely baffled by the man's behaviour. She looked at the list, reading through the ingredients carefully, and she saw that wonderful word. Pepperoni. She recalled the fond memories of that wonderful, delicious meal RJ had given her in the restaurant. She turned on him with a cold expression.

"Do you think bribing me with pizza is going to get me to release you?" She sneered.

"No, I just thought you'd enjoy it, and like I said, I'm hungry too." He responded casually. "I remember how much you enjoyed it last night. I've never seen anyone hoover down a whole 16 inch pie as quick as that."

Camille turned from him and blushed at the memory. The sensation was just so alien and wonderful to her she had gorged herself.

"If you wouldn't mind getting that stuff, I'll happily cook it for us." RJ continued, pulling off his shirt. "Unfortunately the previous owners didn't leave any dish towels. I'll have these dry by the time you get back."

Camille teleported out of the manor house as fast as dignity would allow. If she wasn't blushing before, she sure as hell was now!

Theo, Fran and Casey were waiting by the surveillance system, hoping for the alarms to go off. Normally it was a complete hassle when they were bleeped by the city monitoring system, it generally meant they had to drop everything and run off to do battle at the most inopportune moments. Of course, this time it would probably be their best lead as to exactly where RJ had been taken. Fran was quietly reading, trying not to be too disappointed at missing her date, while Theo checked his watch for the thousandth time and groaned loudly. He had booked the table in the restaurant for his date with Fran for 7:30, though it was now 6:30 and they still hadn't heard anything from Camille or Dai Shi. He knew it was optimistic to hope that they would be considerate of his social life and he'd have rescued RJ by now, but that still didn't stop him wishing he could just be worrying about nothing more than sitting in a candle-lit restaurant with his girlfriend.

Casey suppressed a laugh at Theo's expense as he noted their reactions. He kind of felt sorry for them, they still hadn't had an opportunity to go on a real date yet, and the fates just seemed to constantly conspire against them to prevent them getting a little time to themselves outside of work.

"Theo, you and Fran just go to the restaurant." Casey told him in a sigh. "We're not opening tonight anyway, not with RJ missing."

"We can't do that." Fran moaned. "You guys need to look for RJ."

"He isn't anywhere in the city that we can see." Casey pointed out. "So until they make a move, there's nothing you can do here you can't do at Chez Marceau."

"But we need to be ready to move if anything happens." Theo responded. "Thanks for the gesture, but…"

"But nothing." Casey interrupted the half-hearted protest. "As long as you have your solar morpher with you, I'll be able to contact you if anything happens."

"But…"

"Go and enjoy yourselves." Casey ordered, practically shoving them out the door. "Have a good time." He then handed Theo a pack of mints. "Just remember to lay off the garlic."

"Thanks Casey." Theo relented, realising his friend was not to be argued with when he was in a mood like this. Of course, under guy law, he knew this meant he owed him one. Translation, Casey was now entitled to a full run-down of exactly what happened on the date. Casey sat back down in RJ's chair with a satisfied grin and continued to survey the monitors. He knew how much that date meant to Theo and Fran, and as much as they'd prefer a night when they weren't waiting on hearing whether or not one of their friends would be returned to them alive, at least they'd be a little happier.

Camille returned to the Manor house, having acquired everything on RJ's list. RJ was heating the old wood-fuelled range in the kitchen when she arrived; having hung his shirt a little way above it to dry completely after he'd wrung it out. She approached him cautiously, trying to figure out where to look. She had to admit that his impressively toned physique had certainly had an effect on her. Seeing his body, her mind suddenly raced back to Dai Shi, or at least his current form, Jarrod, since their physical builds were so similar. RJ never commented on her reaction to seeing him half-naked, though he had noticed it. He took the bag from her slowly, and looked inside.

"This stuff looks great." He complimented her, noting the quality of the ingredients.

"I got them across town." She said nervously. RJ suppressed the will to laugh at her reactions; clearly he was making her uncomfortable, exactly as he had intended.

"I'll just get started then." He told her, grabbing a bag of flour and tearing it open. Camille turned away from him and left the room. With his strength of will and personality, along with his physique, he reminded her so much of Dai Shi, and yet, he was so completely different. He was actually talking to her as an equal. He talked to her in a way that made her feel good about herself, he made her feel…important. "Could you come here a second please?" He called through.

Camille returned to the kitchen, seeing him beginning to pull together the beginnings of the dough.

"I want to get started on the sauce. Could you knead the dough for me?"

"I…I…don't know how." She stammered, watching him work. RJ smiled and waved her over.

"You just work the dough like this." He told her, demonstrating. "Roll it up, and then fold it and press hard, like so."

Camille continued to watch for a second. RJ stopped and slid the dough over to her. "Go ahead; I'm sure you'll be fine."

She began to play with the dough gingerly as RJ began chopping tomatoes. He giggled a little at the display.

"No, you can't be as gentle as that, it's dough, it won't break, be a little firm with it." He recommended, continuing with his own task.

Camille took his advice and began aggressively slamming the dough around with force. RJ stopped what he was doing and came over, halting her assault on their dinner.

"I know I said be firm with it, but I didn't mean beat it to death." He came up behind her, putting his arms around her to demonstrate. She jerked away from him a little as she felt his touch.

"I promised I wouldn't attack you, remember?" He reminded her. Camille turned back to the dough as RJ took her hands, guiding her actions. "See what I mean? Slow and gentle yet firm. It's just like a good massage."

"I…I…wouldn't know…" She stuttered, finding her thoughts moving further and further from…from…what was she thinking about again?

"I can't believe you've never had a massage." He commented. "Perhaps we'll rectify that later. Anyway, I'll get back to the sauce. You just keep working on the dough."

As RJ returned to the other work station where he was preparing the tomatoes, Camille started working the dough continuously, completely lost in her thoughts. RJ had touched her, and yet, there was no pain involved. No humiliation, no degradation, no cruelty. Her face felt warm as she flushed a little, imagining what it would be like to have that feeling with the man she loved. To have him just hold her, touch her, kiss her. She remembered RJ's remark about kneading the dough. _"It's just like a good massage."_ Her mind drifted away into a wonderful dream world as she imagined Dai Shi touching her like that, softly, gently and tenderly. RJ looked over to where Camille was completely lost in her own little world and smiled.

'Gotcha!' He thought to himself.

Theo and Fran arrived at the restaurant a little early for their reservation.

"Table for two, Mr Marceau is expecting us." Theo told the maitre d. He towered over the pair, his expensive formal suit making their own smart-casual attire look totally out of place. He looked down his nose at the pair, his lack of warmth obvious in his greeting.

"I'm afraid your table isn't ready sir." He replied snootily, making them feel about three inches tall. "You'll have to wait outside."

"Our booking's in five minutes." Theo reminded him. "Can we wait in here?"

"This area is licensed, and you are under age." He shot back. "You are welcome in the restaurant."

"But not until the time of our reservation." Theo snapped.

"There's no need to get aggressive sir." The maitre d replied. He then proceeded to shoo them aside as the next patrons stepped up.

"Dilmore, table for three at seven thirty." The gentleman stated.

"Right this way sir." The maitre d instructed him, escorting them into the dining room. Theo's mouth hung open in disbelief, seeing the next patrons getting their table before him.

"Jerk!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Turning back to Fran, he looked at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry; I thought this place would be really special." He remarked. A couple of waiters came up behind Theo following his outburst.

"I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to leave." One of them said dryly. Fran looked the two of them up and down thoughtfully.

"We'll go elsewhere." She told them, taking Theo by the arm. Suddenly, she started speaking a little louder so that the other patrons could hear. "By the way Theo, do you know why they wear black uniforms in some restaurants?"

Theo shook his head, slightly confused by where she was going with this. "No."

"Because stains from spills and accidents don't show up as easily," she continued, "it saves on laundry expenses. Apparently some places save as much as ninety eight per cent on their laundry bills by only washing their uniforms once a month."

The diners waiting to be seated eyed up the waiter's black suits and began filing out the door. Theo chuckled as he noticed this. 'Nice one Fran.' He thought to himself. One or two of the patrons already dining had also heard this and gotten up to leave. The maitre d came up to them with an enraged look on his face.

"I suppose you are aware of what slander is?" He asked.

"Did anyone hear me say that THIS PARTICULAR restaurant did that?" Fran asked. Everyone shook their head in response. "I didn't think so. Come on Theo; let's go somewhere that WANTS to serve people."

Watching her leave, Theo turned back to the maitre d with a smirk on his face. "Isn't she great?" He asked him, placing the manager's business card in his breast pocket. "Manners cost nothing, but losing diners does. Remember that in future."

Leaving the restaurant, he rejoined Fran outside, putting an arm around her. "Look, I'm really sorry about that. I wanted our first date to be really special."

"As long as I'm with you, it will be." Fran replied.

"I'm really impressed the way you handled that." Theo told her. "Where did you get that?"

"One of the books I read recently was on restaurant hygiene. Normally I wouldn't have the front to do something like that in public." She answered. Her cheeks turned a little pink. "But when I'm with you, I kind of get this whole extra level of confidence."

"Well I'm glad to hear it." Theo told her. "Now, let's go somewhere else."

Back at the manor house, RJ had finished with the sauce, and formed the dough into two large, round bases. As he was spreading the sauce, he saw that Camille's attention was back 

on the pizzas once more, and no longer in her dream world. He decided to press her a little more.

"You know, that was a great performance at the park." He complimented her. "You know, that whole bit about the abusive boyfriend and everything."

Camille stared at him blankly for a moment as the heartache of that moment came rushing back to her. How she felt totally broken and worthless following her treatment by the man she loved. "I…I tried to fool you." She lied unconvincingly.

"Well you really had me going. I suppose that was all just to get close to me and get me here." He replied.

She turned away a little to hide the fact she was fighting her own urge to cry. RJ noted this reaction with an internal cry of 'bingo'.

"As I said, I'd do anything for my master." She said, her voice cracking just a little. RJ realised that he'd accessed just enough emotion to turn this around as he finished with the toppings.

"The oven should be ready now." He told her, placing the pizzas inside. "It shouldn't be long now. Do we have anything to drink?"

Camille looked into the bag, pulling out a bottle of red wine. "I thought you used everything." She retorted in confusion. "You've not even opened this."

"What's dinner without a little drink?" He asked, pouring each of them a glass.

Theo led Fran back to Jungle Karma. By virtue of the fact it was closed, they were guaranteed to get a good table. Theo took her to her favourite booth and sat her down, taking her coat.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get us in anywhere." He said apologetically. "I suppose the least I could do is cook."

"That would be nice." She replied, pulling him down and kissing him softly on the cheek. Theo looked at her with a cheeky grin on his face, taking in how amazing she looked in her evening wear.

"How am I supposed to concentrate on cooking now?" He asked her.

"I suppose I should help you clear your mind." She responded softly, pulling him into a long, deep, passionate kiss. Parting a little, Theo felt amazing as she finally released him. "Is everything clear now?"

Theo looked at her, feeling as though nothing existed in the world except for her. "Nothing's ever been clearer." He told her, making his way to the kitchen.

Eventually the time had come. The alarm Lily had set on her cell phone instructed her that it was now time to act. She silenced it quickly so as not to rouse the others before reaching over to the table, picking up her solar morpher. It was small enough to secret on her person, so it would be foolish not to take it. There was no way that Camille could possibly know she had disobeyed her and brought it with her, was there? Her blood froze in her veins as she recalled her warning. RJ would die if she disobeyed her. She knew it wasn't a wise move, but she couldn't risk it. She placed it back down on the table, and then silently made her way downstairs. Taking care to lock the door behind her as she left, she stood outside the restaurant waiting on her taxi. She hadn't left the restaurant without anyone to guide her since the accident. She'd barely left the restaurant at all since then, so she would need the driver to take her there. Her mind couldn't focus on anything but RJ, and because of that, she knew she was doomed to lose the upcoming battle, but she didn't care. All she could think about was the fact that RJ was probably suffering at that very moment.

Back at the Manor house, RJ and Camille had finally finished the pizzas and they were both enjoying the wine. Camille was once again plunging in with her usual enthusiasm, having never experienced anything as civilised and pleasant as a friendly drink. Having had a couple of glasses, RJ felt it was now time to approach the subject of her vendetta.

"You weren't acting were you?" RJ asked her. Camille looked up from her meal a little puzzled. "When I approached you in the park, you really were upset about a lover mistreating you."

"Please!" She snapped, trying to sound dismissive of the notion. "Do you really think that I would ever cry like a weak, pathetic human?"

"To be honest, yes I do." He answered. "It isn't a sign of weakness to cry. Everyone does it, even Lily."

He noticed her face drop at the mention of Lily's name. Her mood noticeably darkened. "It doesn't surprise me that she is…"

"Strong enough to give Dai Shi a good run for his money," he interrupted, "and she was blind at the time."

"You are not fit to speak of my love like that!" She snapped, slamming her glass down on the table. Her eyes widened as she realised what she had said. RJ poured himself another glass.

"I guess it must have really upset you when you found out what he did to Lily." RJ sighed, taking a sip. Camille fought her tears to remain as menacing as she could muster in her turbulent, confused state.

"He…he only meant to use her as a pawn. I'm sure of it." She yelled.

"Is that why it's only Lily, and not the others you were after?" RJ pressed her. "I suppose it meant nothing to you when he kissed her then."

Camille couldn't hold in the treacherous tear that rolled down her face, giving away her true feelings as RJ reminded her of that painful moment.

The taxi driver arrived outside the old manor house, and Lily handed him some notes. Since they were all the same size, she couldn't tell exactly what she was giving him, but then again that wasn't going to matter shortly. It's wasn't as if she was going to need money where she was going.

"Do you want me to take you inside miss?" He asked her, more than a little uneasy at the thought of leaving her alone here in her vulnerable state.

"Get me as far as the handrail to the stairs." She requested. The taxi driver took her arm gently, leading her over and placing her hand on the cold metal railing. Seeing how vulnerable she was, he suddenly got an attack of conscience about not telling her she'd given him over a hundred dollars.

"You gave me too much." He told her, handing back some of the money.

"Thank you." She replied, beginning to slowly make her way inside.

"You know, he did FORCE Lily to do that." RJ reminded Camille, taking a glance at the clock. He knew it wouldn't be long until Lily arrived. He didn't have long left for his plan to take effect. "It's not as if she has any feelings for him."

"That's not the point." She whispered, barely audible. By now her mind and her heart had been hammered from all sides in a relentless assault. "He wanted her."

"Meaning he rejected you." He concluded.

"Why is nothing I ever do good enough for him?" She sobbed, collapsing into her folded arms and weeping loudly. "We were lovers before, I still love him, even after all these millennia, why must he treat me this way?"

RJ made his way around the counter, coming over next to her and holding her in his arms, once again giving her the gift of a tenderness she rarely felt. The warmth and kindness the man she loved often denied her. "I don't think it's Lily you're really upset with is it?" He asked. Camille shook her head gently as he cradled her closely, simply allowing her the opportunity to cry. He had succeeded in his objective; Camille was now in no state to even think about harming Lily.

At that moment, Lily crashed through the front door, stumbling into the entrance hall. She was completely disorientated by the unfamiliar surroundings, stumbling around the room. She heard RJ's voice from the kitchen, though she also heard something she never expected to, someone was crying, a woman. Had Camille taken another hostage? Who? Why? She made her way through as carefully as she could, eventually finding her way to the kitchen. RJ saw her coming through the door. He released Camille gently, allowing her to see the Yellow Ranger arrive. Lily looked utterly confused as she realised that the woman she heard crying was she was hearing was Camille.

"The key to your manacle is here." She told him, pulling it out of a pouch on her belt. "Take her and go."

RJ released himself and made his way over to Lily, hugging her tightly and whispered in her ear to reassure her that Camille was no danger to them. "What are you planning to do?" He asked her.

"I really don't know!" Camille replied honestly.

"You could always come with us." He suggested, gently squeezing Lily to silence any potential protest. He knew this was an opportunity to get her to see sense and leave Dai Shi for good.

"Thank you, but no." She answered. "I need time to think."

"Well the offer's still open." RJ stated. "We're going now. Will you be alright?"

Camille didn't answer. Instead, she just slumped down over the table, unable to look at them any longer. Realising he'd done as much as he could to help her, RJ led Lily from the building, leaving Camille as she'd always been, alone.

RJ arrived back with Lily at Jungle Karma in the early hours of the morning to find Theo and Casey pacing the back room, by now they were worried sick. They'd woken in the night and realised that Lily was also no longer in the building and had presumed the worst.

"Lily, where the hell have you been?" Casey screamed at her, rushing over to them. He wanted to hug her, comfort her, but a death glare from RJ warned him off.

"RJ, you're alright!" Theo commented.

"Thanks for your concern guys, but as you can see, we're fine." RJ put down flatly. His accusatory tone and tight grip let Lily know he wasn't happy, and she could guess why. She knew she was going to get a lecture for her reckless behaviour. "Now, if you could please go to your rooms, I want to talk to Lily."

"But..."

"Damn it all go to bed, we're fine!" RJ roared. Lily quailed a little in fear at this response, being so close to him at the time. Theo and Casey stared at him in disbelief. They could never remember him raising his voice to them; it was so out of character for him. They just wordlessly left the room. RJ led Lily to her room, sitting her down on the bed. She knew he wasn't happy; she didn't need to see him to know that. His voice was, by now, a low, barely audible hiss. "Now, why don't you tell me what in the blue hell you intended to accomplish!"

Lily's chin found her chest as she felt his shame and anger wash over her. Her tears began to flow freely. She had thought that the night of her accident was the worst of her life. However, now she felt even worse.

Camille was wandering the streets, completely oblivious to her surroundings as she mulled over the evening's events. Everything RJ had said made a lot of sense, but could it really be true? Was she wasting her time? Was it possible that Dai Shi didn't love her anymore? Didn't respect her? Had he just used her? She sat on a patch of grass, staring forlornly into the night sky. She didn't even respond when the Renshi Warriors came, simply getting up and offering them her arms without protest.

"Time to face the music." She sighed. She soon found herself in front of Dai Shi, being shoved to her knees in front of him.

"Where have you been?" He asked her. She didn't answer, simply responding with a shrug. She knew she couldn't answer him. Not with the truth at least, if he found out she had, not only the Rangers' master in her grasp, but had convinced the Yellow Ranger to come to a meeting without back-up and without her morpher, only to release them unharmed, he would surely destroy her.

"I guess I better keep a tighter leash on you." He stated. He held out his hand, and a silver bracelet appeared in his grasp. Camille recognised it instantly, having seen Dai Shi use them on his slaves thousands of years ago. It was a restraint. It was a shiny, polished silver bracelet, inlaid with black, deeply etched runes around it's circumference. "Give me your left wrist."

Unable to protest without rousing his fury, she moved closer, presenting her hand to him and fell to her knees in front of him. The bracelet grew large enough to be slipped over her hand, only to shrink back down, to become little more than skin-tight around her arm. There were no locks, no catches, no hinges and no gaps. It would be impossible to simply take it off, and she knew that Dai Shi's power exceeded her own, so she knew she wouldn't be able to remove it. A couple of Renshi Warriors helped her back to her feet. She was still unable to look her master in the eye as he addressed her again.

"I will now be able to see and hear what you're doing at all times." He reminded her. "I will be able to call you to me at any time and..." he outstretched his hand, and with a gesture activated the power of the bracelet, the runes turned a bright red and began glowing brightly. Camille screamed and collapsed to the floor, convulsing as waves of pain flashed through her body. After letting her suffer for a few moments, he finally released her from her torment, stopping the pain. The runes returned to their original colour as the pain receded. Camille hauled herself to her feet before him. "I will be able to punish you at any time. You may leave; I will call for you if I need you."

Camille headed back to her bed chamber, and threw herself onto the bed, curling into a foetal ball on the bedclothes. Although she was still weeping over the emotional barrage of the evening and the torment of Dai Shi's treatment, she couldn't help feeling her lips curling upwards as she surveyed the bracelet. She tenderly traced the intricate pattern of runes with her finger, thinking about what the man she loved had given her. He could see her at all times, and he could hear her at all times. He could call her at all times. That meant he cared about her. He wanted her near him, to be within his reach at all times. He was keeping her close to him. That was love, wasn't it?

Lily felt her tears coming more readily as she heard RJ pacing her room. "Well? What was that all about?"

"I wanted to save you." She breathed, unable to find any more strength to argue with him. "I did what I thought..."

"THOUGHT?" He snapped aggressively. "You didn't think! You left your morpher on your bedside bloody table!" He grabbed it off her bedside table and launched it across the room, slamming it against the wall. "You went there with no powers, your training incomplete and BLIND! What the hell did you expect to achieve?"

"I expected to save you." She wailed, feeling the pain in her gut increase as she thought about everything she had put herself through that night. "Camille swore she'd release you regardless of the result."

"And you believed her!" RJ responded sarcastically. "If I was still chained up and she'd killed you, do you REALLY think she would have released me?" Lily's head hung low and she shook her head slowly. He had a point; Camille could have gone back on her word.

RJ grabbed her shoulders tightly, shaking her. "Your heart's bigger than your brain!" He exclaimed loudly. "You're a Ranger. You're needed here. If I'd died, one of the other masters could have trained you. If you'd died we'd have been lost."

"I couldn't lose you." She sobbed.

"If I hadn't talked Camille out of fighting, you'd have died, and she'd have no reason to release me. I'd have died anyway." He explained. "You need to use your brain. I don't matter, you do. You can't give in to sentimentality."

"I didn't..."

"I'm not interested!" RJ cut her off. "You were stupid, pig-headed and careless. You put your team in danger needlessly, and that is unforgivable."

RJ stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Lily turned onto her side and wept as she contemplated her actions. She pulled the leather-bound book from under her pillow where she'd left it when she went to the manor house, clutching it to her chest as she felt her heart fall to pieces. She was devastated that she had disappointed him so much. "I didn't do it because I'm stupid or pig-headed." She murmured to herself. "I did it because I love you."

RJ stormed into his own room, crashing onto his bed and wringing his hair in frustration. He was glad he'd manipulated Camille into giving up her pointless vendetta, but it hurt him immensely that he'd upset Lily so much. He had screamed at her and verbally battered her when he already knew she was upset. He hated hurting her so much, but his anger at her risking herself so needlessly for him. He felt his tears burn his eyes painfully, though the burning sensation in his heart hurt him even more. He hated to hurt her so much, but he knew he'd never have been able to live with himself if anything had happened to her. She was everything to him.


	11. An Apology

RJ woke up the following day with a painful, tight, burning sensation in his chest, and knew exactly what was wrong. He'd gone completely over the top with Lily the previous night and he knew it.

He sat on the edge of his bed gathering his thoughts as he tried to will himself to get out of bed. He knew he had to get up, he had a restaurant to run, but he couldn't face Lily after the way he'd spoken to her. He knew how badly his words had hurt her, he'd reduced her to tears, he knew that much, but he couldn't help it. His crippling fear of losing her had turned into a boiling rage that completely overshadowed his judgement. It was as though he was merely a passenger along for the ride when his mouth started throwing abuse at her. He knew he'd have to apologise at some point, he just wasn't looking forward to it.

Heading for the bathroom, he glanced over at the door to her bedroom. He wanted to go in and check on her, but he was sure she was still asleep. She probably wouldn't want to talk to him right now anyway, and he couldn't blame her for that. He'd been a complete jerk to her last night. He made his way into the bathroom and began running his shower to get it to temperature. He was stopped in his tracks as he noticed a bandage lying on the sink. Picking it up, he realised Lily must have left it there when she changed her dressing the day before.

He looked at himself in the mirror with a long sigh as he put the dressing back in the sink. He felt lousy, and he knew he deserved to. This was not going to be a pleasant day. The knot building up in his gut told him he was due some serious karmic payback, but it couldn't make him feel any worse than he already did.

Lily woke up, still feeling completely crushed by the events of the night before. She released her grasp on the leather bound book, replacing it in the drawer of her bedside table as she slowly came to. She could still remember the savage anger in RJ's voice as he screamed at her; every painful word came rushing back to her. She knew she'd let him down, and it tore her apart to think that he didn't respect her any more. That he was ashamed of her. She recalled her confession to herself that night, which made her feel even worse.

She'd fallen for RJ in a big way; she'd been spending so much more time with him since the accident that she'd gotten to know him a lot more. He made her feel important, special in a way no one else ever had. When she talked with him, it was as if everything she had to say was the most important thing in the world to him. She could tell him anything, confident that he wouldn't judge her or think badly of her. She was able to open up to him about things she'd never told anyone. Any time he had held her in his arms she felt safe, warm and confident. He gave her hope when she was ready to give up on herself several times now. He was always able to help ease her pain, in his arms she felt like nothing could ever harm her. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to her.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore. RJ had made that perfectly clear when he chastised her for going after Camille. He'd called her stupid and pig-headed. He thought she was a disappointment, a failure. Her heart sank in her chest as she pulled the covers back over herself and began to weep into her pillow. She was in no mood to face anyone today, least of all RJ.

RJ was in the kitchen, preparing ingredients for the lunchtime rush. His mind was far from focussed on the task at hand, something that was obvious as Casey came down the stairs, finding RJ lost in thought.

"So when are we expecting the Seventh Cavalry?" He asked. RJ stared at him blankly.

"What do you mean?" He asked in return.

"Don't you think you've prepared a little much?" Casey suggested. RJ looked down at the chopping board he was grating cheese onto. He'd already gone through one industrial-sized block, and had gone about half way through a second without even realising it. Shredded cheese now covered most of the work surface, and some had even fallen to the floor.

"Damn it!" He grunted, realising that he'd probably end up wasting a good portion of it.

"Where's your head at?" Casey laughed as RJ began clearing up and putting the cheese into Ziploc bags. He didn't answer, he knew exactly where his head was at, and it sure as hell wasn't in the restaurant with him, it was upstairs with a certain blonde girl who had cried herself to sleep last night because of him. Finishing up, he grabbed a kitchen knife and some peppers and began hacking away at them aggressively.

"You might want to calm down a bit." Casey told him. "It was Camille that kidnapped you, not those peppers."

"I'm fine." RJ grumbled, continuing to butcher the vegetables roughly.

"Look, there's nothing to feel bad about." Casey reassured him. "Camille's tricked us a couple of times. I'd probably have fallen for it."

"I'm not upset about being tricked." RJ muttered, looking up from his work. "Now, could you find something to do? Preferably somewhere…argh bloody hell!"

"Jeez RJ, watch what you're doing." Casey chastised him as he ran the tap for RJ to clean the self-inflicted wound. Bright red blood started to flow from a deep gash in his fingers as the knife slipped.

RJ grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his hand, halting the flow of blood. "Casey, it looks like this will require stitches. Would you mind finishing off in here?" He asked.

"No problem." He answered, holding the door open as RJ sprinted out of the kitchen. He looked at the work surface and grabbed some kitchen towel and disinfectant spray. He'd already resigned himself to the fact that RJ wasn't going to be much use today, even before he'd hurt himself. It was obvious from the way he was acting that his head wasn't in the game. At least nothing serious had happened, the way RJ was sleepwalking through his shift, he'd probably have ended up burning the place down.

Theo was taking in the morning paper when Fran arrived for her shift. Coming over behind him, she couldn't help staring as he was bending over to retrieve the paper. Standing up and turning round, Theo jumped as he suddenly realised Fran was standing there.

"Jeez, give me a bit of warning next time." He stated, clearly startled. "I must have lost about ten years there."

"Sorry, I guess I should have given you a bit more warning." She replied, wrapping her arms around him. "I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed myself last night."

"Yeah, sorry things didn't go to plan." Theo said apologetically. "I really didn't intend for our first date to be here."

"Well I suppose we could always try again." She responded. "Besides, I loved it. I never knew you were such a good cook."

"Cooking was one of the essential skills they made us study at Pai Zhuq." He explained. "Master Mao always maintained that we should know how to take care of ourselves, and figured that being able to feed ourselves was as much a part of that as being able to defend ourselves in a fight."

"Well I can't say that I'm complaining that meal last night was amazing." She complimented him. "I guess I've managed to bag myself a modern man."

"Modern man, so that's your kind eh?" He teased her, holding her closely. "I suppose I could live with that."

"Guys, get in here." Casey called out from the kitchen as RJ pushed his way past them. "RJ's going to the hospital; I could really use your help."

"What happened?" Fran asked him as they both got to the kitchen.

"He wasn't concentrating and his knife slipped." Casey informed them as he finished off cleaning up the blood. "He's lucky he still has a full compliment of fingers."

"How is he?" Theo inquired.

"He seems to be ok, but he thinks he'll need stitches." Casey answered. "Now, could someone help me with the vegetables?"

RJ arrived at the hospital a little while later, rushing in through the entrance lobby.

"What can I help you with?" The receptionist asked him. RJ held up his wrapped hand.

"I had an accident in the kitchen." He informed her. "Could I see someone?"

"A doctor will be with you shortly." She replied. "Take a seat."

RJ sat down, holding the cloth around his hand tightly. He couldn't believe he'd cut himself, it had been years since he'd had any kind of accident like that, he was normally so careful. 

He knew, of course, why it had happened. He was too busy thinking of Lily and the way he'd yelled at her. He hadn't seen her yet that day, but he knew he'd just feel even worse if he had. She'd been through so much lately, the last thing she needed was her master going completely insane and tearing her a new one. He hung his head, completely ashamed of himself and his behaviour. Seeing how badly his well-earned guilt trip had hit him, he vowed to apologise as soon as he got back.

"The doctor will see you now." The receptionist informed him. "It's the second door on the left."

"Thanks." RJ replied as he got off the seat and made his way to the examination room.

"What can I do for you?" The doctor asked as he arrived. He was slightly taken aback as he saw her. He didn't have a problem with women being doctors; he just didn't know any women who looked like THIS were doctors.

She was about five foot seven with an incredible figure. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back into a neat pony tail which hung almost halfway down her back. Her bright blue eyes were accentuated by small, designer frame reading glasses. She gestured for him to sit down. As he did so, he couldn't help taking the opportunity to take another look at her. He noticed that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring, which was one thing at least.

"So what can I call you?" She asked him as she looked out some equipment. "I find Mr and Mrs X so formal."

"I'm RJ." He replied. "And you are?"

"Dr Michaela Hill, but everyone calls me Mike." She told him, shaking his one good hand. She carefully unwrapped his other, inspecting the wound. "Well there doesn't seem to be nerve damage, but it will need stitches."

"I thought it would." He told her, holding his hand in position. "I wasn't paying attention."

"So where do you work?" She asked him. "The whites, the knife injury, I'm guessing you're a chef."

"I am." He replied. "I own Jungle Karma Pizza."

"Oh I love that place!" She yelped excitedly. "I go there ALL the time. At least once a week, I love the Thrilla Gorilla, what made you decide to put bananas on a pizza?"

"I have kind of a fixation on bananas." He chuckled as she prepared the needle.

"Would you like a local anaesthetic?" She asked him as she chuckled at his last comment.

"No thanks." He said, shrugging casually. He kind of got the idea he might be onto something with this, and he didn't want to look like a wimp. Mike smiled at him.

"So, I see from your medical records you aren't married." She commented, biting her lip slightly as she looked at him awaiting his response. RJ started grinning as he noticed this reaction. She was obviously fishing for information.

"I haven't gotten around to it." He told her as she began stitching. Feeling the needle plunge through his flesh, he kind of regretted not taking the anaesthetic, though by now it was too late, if he wimped out now, he'd definitely lose some respect points. He tried to focus his mind on something other than the pain. He glanced again at her left hand, confirming his earlier finding that there was no wedding ring.

"I see you're not wearing a wedding ring." He pressed on, hoping to get a rise out of her. "I suppose in your line of work you take it off before your shift to make sure it doesn't end up inside a patient."

"I'm not married." She replied with a small, nervous giggle. RJ was doing back flips in his mind as she said this. She was clearly taking an interest in him, and it looked like she might be on the market. "With my shift patterns, I don't get a whole lot of time to date."

"You should try running a restaurant." RJ responded with a chuckle. "I swear some days just kind of disappear without a trace."

"That sounds familiar." She stated, finishing up and tying off the end. Taking a pair of scissors, she snipped off the trailing end, before searching her drawers for some dressings. "Every now and again we have to pull 24 hour shifts; by the end of it I look like an extra from 'dawn of the dead'."

"That can't be fun." RJ agreed. She started to tape a dressing over his stitches. Seeing his Order of the Claw tattoo, she looked at him quizzically.

"What's this?" She asked. "Were you in a gang or something?"

"More like a club." RJ told her. He noticed a little relief in her face as he said this. She probably wouldn't have been interested if she thought he was a gang member. "I got it when I was young."

"Well we all have embarrassing souvenirs from our youth." She responded. "I have a few scars from my rather disastrous attempt to become a dancer."

"Oh come on, I'm sure with a body like that you move amazingly." He replied cheekily. He noticed her turn a bit pink as he complimented her. He thought about what she'd look like dancing, but suddenly found himself instead imagining Lily. He had seen her dance many times in the back room, and he always found her amazing. He shook his head as he tried to get his mind back on the task at hand. Why was he thinking about Lily? He was sitting in front of probably the most amazing looking doctor in the western hemisphere, she appeared to be flirting with him, and he was thinking about Lily? What the hell was wrong with him? She was hot!

"The mind was willing, but the feet have the grace and elegance of a crippled bull elephant." She answered, finishing off his dressing. "Look, I don't normally do this, but I was wondering. Are you going out with anyone?"

"I am." He blurted out before he could stop himself. Why did he say that? He wasn't dating anyone; hell, he hadn't had a date in years! So why when he was about to seal the deal with this amazing looking woman did he do something stupid like that? He saw the look of disappointment on Mike's face. He wanted to backtrack, but he knew he'd never be able to recover the situation now. If he tried to tell her he had made a mistake telling her he was involved with another person, she'd think he was either a player or an idiot. He resigned himself to the fact he'd blown it. "You did an amazing job."

"Thanks." She replied, turning away to hide her embarrassment. She'd put herself out there, only to get shot down. She couldn't believe she'd misread the situation so badly. She was sure he was flirting with her. She handed him a packet of dressings. "You'll need to change the dressings each day. Come back in about a week to get the stitches out."

RJ took out a business card and handed it to her. He felt bad about rejecting her like that, but even worse about the fact he'd blown it with her. "Maybe I can sort you out with a free Thrilla Gorilla." He suggested.

"Maybe." Mike sighed, putting away her equipment. "I'll probably see you around."

"I hope so." He answered as he left. Walking down the corridor, he still couldn't believe what had happened. He'd flirted with her throughout the entire examination, and not only did she seem to respond well to it, she was flirting back. Hell she all but asked him out, so why did he blow it by saying he was going out with someone when he wasn't? He remembered that everything seemed to go downhill right after she mentioned wanting to be a dancer. As soon as she said that, he started seeing images of Lily in his mind. When she asked him if he was going out with anyone, the words flew out of his mouth before he could think. But it still puzzled him that he would make that mistake. Resigning himself to the fact that it was just another chapter in the book entitled 'the potential dates RJ managed to blow before they started' and made his way back to the restaurant.

Fran was cooking up an omelette as the orders started coming in. Theo came over to her with a couple of checks.

"You do know we are a pizza parlour right?" He asked her. Fran gave him a sideways glance as he commented on her making something not on the menu.

"It's for Lily." She told him. "It's midday?"

Theo shrugged and looked at her a little confused. Fran rolled her eyes. "She went to bed last night before five. She didn't have anything to eat yesterday, and she hasn't come out of her bedroom all morning, she hasn't eaten in hours!"

Theo looked away, realising she was right. He hadn't seen Lily since she and RJ had returned the previous night. He was amazed she hadn't come to him; she normally talked to him about everything.

"She likes her eggs over-easy." He informed Fran. She smirked back at him.

"If we weren't together I'd be jealous." She told him. "I think it's sweet you know how she likes her eggs."

"I'll find out how you like yours if you want." He whispered in her ear, placing his hands softly on her hips as he spoke. She shrunk a little in his grasp, feeling herself melt at his touch.

"Benedict." She told him. "I love eggs Benedict." With that, she tipped the contents of the pan onto a plate, and carried it upstairs, only stopping at the top of the stairs to blow him a kiss. Casey arrived at this point and began miming retching. This only earned him a rat-tail with a damp service cloth from Theo.

Fran chapped the door to Lily's door softly, opening the door slowly as she nervously made her way inside. Lily had the covers over her, and didn't seem to register the fact that Fran had come into the room. She came over to the edge of the bed and nudged Lily gently.

"I've brought you some breakfast." She stated, holding the plate close.

"I'm not hungry." She croaked in return, not even looking at her friend. RJ's rant had hurt her deeply, and she couldn't think about anything, much less eating at this time. She just wanted to be alone.

"I'll leave it on your table." Fran told her, setting the plate down, rattling it gently so that Lily would know where it was and touching her shoulder. "It's there if you want it."

Lily waved her off over her shoulder. She didn't want to see anyone, she felt so useless that she couldn't face anyone. Fran however was not to be denied. She sat down on the bed, and peeled back the covers, exposing Lily's head. She tried to pull covers back, but Fran stopped her.

"We're all really worried about you, please, just have something to eat and come downstairs. We'd all really love to see you." She told her. Lily snuggled further into her protective canvas cocoon.

"Leave me alone." She whispered. "Please, just go."

She gave in to the fact that Lily was not in the mood to talk. Fran simply got up and left the room, closing the door softly as she left. She felt bad for Lily. Theo had explained that she'd gone off on her own to find RJ, and that RJ had had a rather heated discussion with her about her decision. Her sympathy soon disappeared as her thoughts turned to RJ. Whatever he'd said, Lily's current mood was his fault, and she wasn't about to stand there and do nothing 

while Lily let herself waste away in self-pity. RJ couldn't have picked a worse moment to arrive back in the restaurant as Fran got back to the kitchen.

"It's just stitches." He told them. "I'll be..."

His words were cut off, while Theo and Casey were stunned into silence as Fran stormed up to her boss and slapped him hard across the face. Even she was shocked that she'd done it. RJ started rubbing his cheek as it turned red and began to sting.

"What the hell have you said to Lily?" She snapped. "She hasn't come out of her room all day, she's devastated!"

RJ couldn't say anything in response. More than the shock of having Fran of all people attack him like that, the thing that stung him the most was the fact that she was right. He was out of order and he knew it. "I'll talk to her in a while." He replied, attempting to move past her. Fran sidestepped with him to place herself in his path.

"If you still want to have any staff left when you get downstairs, you'll go and talk to her right now!" She warned him. He looked over to Theo and Casey. While he knew them working there was a part of their cover as Rangers, he knew how loyal they were to Lily, and that they probably would back Fran up on her threat. He sighed deeply as he stood in the kitchen, confronted by his team. He had to admit, if the situations were reversed, he'd probably be much the same way. He placed a hand on Fran's shoulder.

"I'll talk to her." He told her, heading for the stairs. Fran watched him go, the expression of anger never slipping from her face. Theo came over to her.

"Remind me never to piss you off." He commented.

RJ gently knocked on Lily's door and made his way inside. Seeing her cocooned in covers, as though trying to bury herself to hide from the world, his heart all but shattered. He came over to the side of the bed and sat down, gently placing a hand on her back and beginning to stroke her gently. She stirred a little at his touch.

"Lily, I'm really sorry." He began, struggling to find the words as he felt every inch of his chest ache. Karma was not kind to him, but then again he didn't deserve anything less. "I was way out of line the way I spoke to you last night."

"I let you down." She muttered.

"You may not have made the smartest decision, but I understand why you did it." He replied. "I was so scared I would lose you, I was hardly able to think. When we got out of there, I was so relieved that you were safe I just...I let my emotions got the better of me. I should never have shouted at you that way. I knew I was going to do something I'd regret, I should have left it alone until I calmed down. I'm sorry."

"I know I'm a disappointment to you." She whimpered her voice small and weak as she pulled further into herself. RJ cursed himself for doing this to her.

"You've never disappointed me one day since you came here." He told her. "If anything, I've let you down. Can you forgive me for being a jerk?"

She nodded her head gently. She could never hold anything against RJ; she cared about him too much. He noticed the plate of breakfast on her table.

"It looks like Fran went to a lot of effort over this." He told her. "Would you like some?"

Lily turned over, and pulled herself into a seating position. RJ handed her the plate and her cutlery.

"I guess you needed that." He remarked as she began shovelling the food down quickly. Lily only nodded in response since her mouth was full. Her stomach had all but started screaming for sustenance during her self-imposed fast. RJ brushed some hair out of her face as she continued eating, instantly feeling his heart lifting as he realised that at least he'd started to mend some bridges with her. As Lily finished, he took the plate from her, placing it back on the table and hugged her tightly. She smiled as she once again felt that wonderful, warm glow she always did in his embrace. Releasing her, he looked at her once more. She meant so much to him, it had torn him apart knowing that he had hurt her, but at least now she could once again greet him with that wonderful, bright smile of hers that made him feel amazing, each and every time he saw it.

"I guess I should probably get dressed now." She stated.

"Maybe later, right now I've got something more important to do." He told her. He reached into her dresser, and pulled out her book. Opening it to a random chapter, be began reading.

Lily settled back down into the covers as he started the story. His soft, soothing voice made her heart swell with joy as he read from the book she loved so much.

RJ noticed Lily smile as he read, and felt the tightness in the chest melt away. He felt better now that he had begun to make amends with Lily. He knew she would forgive him eventually, and it made his day to see her so cheerful again. He couldn't help smiling as he thought about her. He'd almost amputated half his hand, fumbled his first potential date in years and had the taste slapped out of his mouth by one of his employees, but on the whole, this wasn't a bad day. Making her smile again made it all worth it.


	12. Confessions of the Heart

Camille cradled her protesting stomach as the hunger pangs came yet again. It had been almost a full day since Dai Shi had dismissed her, and he still hadn't called for her. Fearing reprisals if she displeased him by returning to the throne room before he summoned her, she had instead remained in her bedchamber, not even leaving to feed herself. She was sure her love would not allow her to suffer too much longer; however, she was now pointedly aware of how long it had been since she'd last eaten. Flit burst forth from her mouth, coming out to reason with her.

"Hey, you might like playing the martyr, but I'm famished. How about we get some food huh?" He protested, aggrieved at his enforced famine.

"Dai Shi has not given me permission to leave." She whispered to the fly in response, softly fingering the restraining bracelet that he had placed on her. She knew he could now monitor her behaviour, and she had no desire to rouse his fury once more. "He may summon me shortly."

"Well you're not going to be much good to him if you're starving are you?" He asked her. "He'll need you strong enough to serve him. Besides, he just told you to get out of his sight; he didn't say you couldn't leave your bedchamber did he?"

Camille again started nervously tracing the runes on the bracelet with her finger. It was true that he hadn't exactly forbidden her from leaving, but she had felt the bracelet's power once already and was not keen to repeat the experience. She doubted he would accept her splitting hairs on a matter of semantics with his orders. She stared into her chest and shook her head slowly, utterly miserable in her current state.

"He can summon you with the bracelet." Flit reminded her. "Hell, you haven't had anything to eat since the Ranger's master gave you that pizza. Man that was good."

She felt her mind drift back to the night she had failed her master so miserably. For her own selfish reasons, she had attempted to lure the Yellow Ranger into a trap. She knew she would be easy to manipulate into putting herself in harms way. She hadn't expected her hostage to be so accommodating however.

She recalled the odd behaviour of the man as, rather than attempt to escape or undermine her; he'd actually offered to make her dinner. She recalled with fondness the amazing sensation as the delicious, warm, soft pizza just melted in her mouth, releasing all it's wonderful flavour. Her stomach protested again as she only succeeded in reminding herself how long it had been since she'd eaten.

"Come on, we'll be back inside an hour, and if Dai Shi really needs you, he'll use the bracelet to bring you back." Flit pressed on.

"I suppose I am hungry." She mused. "My master will call for me if I'm needed."

"That's my girl!" Flit chirped cheerfully as he flew back inside her.

Camille concentrated for a second. She knew she couldn't use the same disguise as before, the Rangers would recognise her. Deciding on a new form, she changed her appearance. Looking in the mirror, she took in her new form. She had shoulder-length brunette hair, and tanned skin with deep, brown eyes. Looking at her outfit, she wore a short, red dress that showed off long, shapely legs. Remembering when she had seen this woman in Ocean Bluff before, she recalled builders wolf-whistling her and throwing her tacky pick-up lines. Presumably this form was what human males considered attractive.

Shrugging, she was about to leave when she noticed something odd. Everything had changed about her appearance, but her bracelet had retained it's appearance. Concentrating as hard as she could, she still couldn't get it to change form regardless of how much she tried. Clearly this was a part of the bracelet's power. Resigning herself to the fact that it wouldn't change, she opted instead to simply accept the fact and head into the city to find somewhere to eat, and she knew just the place.

Dinner service was quieter than it had been in a long time. Fran had little difficulty dealing with the few customers out front, while Theo was already beginning to clear up the kitchen. Casey was standing by the counter absent-mindedly playing solitaire, desperately trying to stave off the worst of the boredom. RJ had grown so tired of the lack of activity, he had given up on finding work in the restaurant and gone back upstairs to see if Lily wanted to train some more.

"You know, you could at least TRY and look like you have something to do." Theo stated, coming out of the kitchen and coming up behind Casey.

"But I don't. There's barely enough work for Fran." He sighed, turning up the red king he'd been so desperate to find for ages. "This place is completely dead."

"Well when that table goes, Fran and I might be able to get a bit of time to ourselves." Theo remarked, noticing the second last table leaving the restaurant. "I really doubt it'll take all of us to close up tonight."

Just then, a stranger walked in the door, looking around for somewhere to sit. Casey did a double-take as he noticed the new arrival come in. She was a little shorter than him, and had shoulder-length brunette hair. She appeared to be wearing some kind of red designer dress which was completely out of place in a pizza parlour. He couldn't help staring at her. Grabbing his check pad, he rushed over to the new arrival, scattering playing cards on the floor, and almost flattening Fran in his rush to greet her.

"Good evening, welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, I'm Casey, how may I help you?" He rushed out the greeting. Theo shook his head in annoyance as he began picking up playing cards from the floor.

Camille eyed up the Red Ranger suspiciously, though satisfied herself that he hadn't recognised her. There was no way he could know it was her. She gave him a little smile.

"I was looking for a table." She told him softly. Casey gestured to a booth over by the window and showed her to her seat. Camille sat down and eyed up the menu. As much as she loved the pepperoni pizzas she'd already eaten here, she was keen to try out something else. Besides, she didn't want to arouse suspicion by ordering the same thing every time she came here.

"What's the Hawaiian like?" She asked.

"Personally, I think it's great." He responded. "Would you like anything to drink with that?"

She thought about it for a while. Unable to think of anything else, she blurted it out an answer. "Cola."

Casey gave her a little smile as he finished taking her order. "That'll just be a few minutes." He told her, making his way back to the kitchen.

"You just about wiped me out." Fran complained as he came back to the counter. Casey glanced back over at the unusual customer, seeing her begin to play absent-mindedly with her bracelet.

"Sorry Fran, I just didn't want to leave all the work to you." He stated. Fran followed his gaze to the table.

"I suppose it's a coincidence that you only wanted to serve HER table?" Fran teased him. Theo started working on the Pizza as Casey poured her drink.

"There may be an element of truth in that." He murmured to himself, collecting a tray and heading back over to the table.

"Does Casey always try it on with the customers?" She asked Theo, setting herself up by the counter. Theo glanced around the door at his friend.

"That's Casey alright." He informed her. "Expect him to ask for her phone number before she leaves."

RJ threw another attack, only to be parried skilfully by his student, only narrowly pulling just out of reach of her counter. She laughed a little as he realised how far she had come from her earliest lessons. "I guess I've been teaching you too well." He complimented her. "Soon you'll be ready for another round with Swoop."

"I'm not sure I'll be ready for that any time soon." She replied, throwing a high kick. As she slightly unbalanced herself, RJ grabbed her, holding her close to him. She struggled a little in his grip, forcing him to twist her arm up her back a little more forcefully. Seeing her wince in pain, he felt a little bad, and decided to make the situation a little more light-hearted.

"That was just careless, remember not to over stretch." He reminded her, shoving her away with a playful ruffle of the hair. Lily turned on him, overcoming her disappointment at being caught out with a laugh at his treatment of her. There was no way she could let him away with that.

"You're going to pay for that one." She told him confidently, gesturing him forward. RJ took a swing, though this time Lily caught him, twisting his arm and forcing him to bend over. A mischievous grin crossed her face as an idea came to her. She brought her hand up high, smacking him hard across the backside. RJ snapped upright as he stepped away from her, rubbing his ass. He laughed out loud, realising she'd gotten her own back for messing up her hair.

"OK, I kind of deserved that." He chuckled. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied confidently. They circled each other for a moment, before launching into a string of attacks, neither one giving an inch as they threw everything they had at each other. RJ was once again impressed by the sheer passion and drive of Lily's attacks, quickly finding himself on the defensive. Seeing a fist coming towards him, he attempted to catch it, only realising with a hot needle of pain shooting up his arm he had inadvertently used his injured hand.

"Damn it!" She yelled loudly, breaking off the attack. Lily grabbed his shoulder as he turned away from her cradling his hand painfully.

"I'm sorry, what happened?" She asked him. A look of concern crossed her face as she realised she had somehow hurt him.

"It's my fault, I cut my hand earlier." He informed her. "I guess in the heat of the moment I just forgot about it. I used the wrong hand to block."

Lily took his hand gently in her own, gently stroking his dressing. "I don't smell blood, so I don't think I've popped the stitches." She told him.

"Well that's one thing at least." He responded. Tenderly taking his hand, Lily brought it up, gently kissing the injury.

"Does it feel any better now?" She asked him. RJ couldn't help but laugh at the gesture. He couldn't believe she'd actually thought to kiss it better; the last person to do that had been his mom when he was nine.

"I guess it does feel a bit better." He answered. Lily reached up, beginning to gently drag her fingers across his face. "Lily, what are you doing?"

"It's been so long since I've seen you laughing; I just wanted to remind myself what it looked like." She replied. Closing his eyes so that she wouldn't accidently drag her fingers into his eyes, he felt a warm sensation creeping up in him as he felt her soft touch. After she'd finished, she turned away from him, holding her face in his hands and gently sobbing. RJ came over to her, touching her shoulder.

"I'm scared RJ." She whimpered as he turned her back towards him, holding her closely. "I know you've taught me this, and I know I could learn to cope, but I'm just so scared. This might be the closest I'll come to seeing anyone ever again."

Placing a hand on the back of her head, he held her head to his chest as she sobbed. "You can never think like that." He reminded her. "You have to stay positive. The guys are always going to be here for you. I'm always going to be here for you." After a short time, she drew away a little. Placing a hand behind his neck, she drew his head down, gently pressing her lips to his. She drew away as soon as she'd done it. She had fallen for RJ hard, and she knew that spending so much time with him was bound to lead to an awkward situation like this. She had allowed the emotion of the situation get the better of her. RJ had taken care of her, comforted her and guided her since her accident. He'd been there for her so much; it was no surprise her feelings for him had grown, but now she'd blown it. There was no way RJ could return her feelings, he was her master. He commonly referred to them as his cubs; he looked on them as his kids. If she could have, she would have fled, but her feet betrayed her, refusing to move. It was probably just as well, she'd no doubt have ended up hurting herself.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, turning from him. She found her way to the couch and lay down, burying her face in the cushions. RJ knew how embarrassed she must have been about the incident, and opted to leave. However, his mind started to play on him from the moment it happened. How had he not seen this coming? Surely he should have noticed something before now. Allowing the incident to replay itself in his mind, he pondered his own actions in the whole affair. Why hadn't he tried to stop her? Why had he allowed thing to go so far? He thought back to the kiss, trying to recall his thoughts, but he was unable to. There was no thought to it, only feeling. Even just thinking about the kiss brought back the warm, comfortable feeling that washed over him as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.

Now it made sense. The whole time, he hadn't seen it, but now it all was so clear. That day in the market, he had been stopped in his tracks as he saw the book in the window of the antique book store, and all he could think about was how happy it would make her when he gave it to her. He had actually felt his heart skip a beat when he had given it to her. Her joy was overpowering, and in her excitement she had kissed him on the cheek. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, but he now remembered feeling elated as she did this.

He recalled that the night he had been kidnapped, his only thought was to prevent Lily sacrificing herself for him. His heart had all but torn apart at the thought of losing her. He even thought about thinking of it in those terms, _losing_ her. He had grown to consider her as his own without realising it. How could he not have seen it?

That night, his fear of losing her had come flooding out in a blinding rage that was so out-of-character for him. He had screamed at her for her recklessness, but now he could at last see that the real reason he was upset was because he would have gladly laid down his life to keep her safe.

He had even missed the clue at the doctor's office. Dr. Mike was an attractive, intelligent woman who all but threw herself at him. He'd been interested himself, and the two of them had flirted openly with each other. She had pretty much all but asked him out, only for RJ to blow it by telling her that he was with someone. He didn't know why he said that, but now he did. In his mind, he was. He had been thinking about Lily, not Mike from the moment she had mentioned wanting to be a dancer. Finally, his thoughts came full circle as he came back to the kiss. He now knew why he hadn't tried to stop it. He wanted it to happen. Now he knew why he hadn't noticed her growing closer to him, his own feelings had blinded him to it. It was now so obvious.

Breathing a deep sigh, he made his way over to the couch where Lily was still lost in her embarrassment over the whole incident. RJ roused her attention by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you mind if I sit down?" He asked her.

Camille had just finished with her meal as Casey was clearing up. He had told Fran and Theo that the since the restaurant was so quiet, they could go home and he'd finish up the chores. They had both seen right through the ruse, and knew he only wanted to get rid of them so that he could hit on the last remaining customer. He came over with a bright smile.

"So did you enjoy your meal?" He asked. Camille nodded in response, still feeling the satisfaction of finally having eaten after her self-imposed fast. "That'll be 20 dollars."

Camille suddenly realised the grave error she had made. She didn't have money with her, how was she going to pay for her meal? She knew it would be foolish to try and attack Casey; the others were probably upstairs, so revealing herself as one of their sworn enemies would be far from the wisest of strategies. She began to rummage around her belongings, feigning the search for a wallet.

"My money's been stolen." She lied, turning to face the Red Ranger apologetically. "Someone must have taken it, I'm sorry, is there anything else I can do to repay you?"

Casey thought about this for a second. He probably should have been suspicious that someone would only realise they didn't have money AFTER they'd eaten a meal, but he decided to seize the opportunity that presented itself. "My shift finishes in an hour. If you come back then, I could take you to the movies."

She racked her brain for an answer, some way to get herself out of this. Realising she could always stand him up; she figured she'd go along with it. "I'd like that." She responded with a smile.

"I'm Casey." He introduced himself with a handshake. Camille returned the gesture.

"I'm Carly." She lied. "I'll be back in an hour."

Leaving the restaurant, Camille didn't get far before she noticed the runes on her bracelet turn blue and glow brightly. Before she knew it, she was standing before Dai Shi in his throne room. She fell to her knees before him, already begging for mercy before he said a word.

"Did you forget I would see and hear everything?" He asked her. "Did you not think I would find out about you consorting with the Rangers?"

"My lord, I sought only to find something to eat." She rushed out, unable to look him in the eye. "I was so hungry, I needed to go there."

"So you didn't agree to meet the Red Ranger for a late night rendezvous." He commented. With a wave of his hand, the runes on her bracelet turned red, glowing brightly and a searing, burning pain shot through her body once more. Camille writhed on the floor in agony, her screams reverberating around the halls of the fortress. "You know how I will reward betrayal."

"My lord, I have no desire to betray you." She replied as he finally released her from her torment. "I only agreed to meet with him because I could not pay for my food. He doesn't even know it was me. I did not plan to meet with him, I swear."

She screamed in pain as Dai Shi once again summoned the power of the bracelet. He continued to punish her for a while, before finally relenting, allowing her to regain her composure.

"This does present us with a rare opportunity." He told her. He held out his hand, at which a long, silver dagger appeared before her. The handle was carved in the pattern of a serpent, with rubies inlaid into the eyes. "This dagger is treated with a deadly poison. Take it, and then when you get the Red Ranger alone, use it. One cut should be sufficient."

Camille took the dagger from him, sliding it inside her clothing with an obedient nod. She didn't want to go back, she had no desire to meet with the Red Ranger, but she knew that if she refused him, facing Dai Shi's wrath would be much worse than she had already experienced.

"By the time this night is done, we will have one less Ranger to worry about." He stated as he sent Camille back to the restaurant.

Lily just wanted to wait on the earth opening up to swallow her whole as she felt the warmth of RJ's touch, but she knew she couldn't avoid this conversation forever. She knew she was going to have to hear the 'just friends' speech eventually, she lived in the same apartment as the man. She knew that no matter how long she delayed it, she'd have to hear it eventually, there was nowhere for her to hide. She turned over and sat up, gently patting the seat next to her as a gesture for him to take a seat. "I know what you're going to say." She stated as her head hung low, her feelings of rejection obvious in her body language.

"Well that makes one of us." RJ told her, placing an arm around her.

"Look, RJ, I'm sorry." She began. "I've been falling for you for a while now. I don't regret what I did, but I know you don't feel the same. Just, please, don't make this any harder, it's embarrassing enough as it is."

"Do I get to say something about this?" He asked. Lily shrugged as she prepared for the lecture. "Lily, you're one of the most wonderful, caring and passionate people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing…"

"But you're my master and it would be wrong." Lily interrupted him. "You're older than me, I should find someone my own age and there's plenty more fish in the sea, is that about right?"

"You know if you let me say this…"

"It's not going to make a difference RJ, I've made an idiot of myself, and I know I have." She cut him off. "Now please, don't patronise me and let me keep what little dignity I still…"

Now it was RJ's turn to cut her off, as he softly placed a hand on her cheek and turned her face towards him, kissing her passionately. Lily couldn't say a word, just sitting open-mouthed in shock at what had just happened.

"I was planning to do that AFTER I told you that I feel the same way about you." He explained. "But if this is the only way I can get you to shut up long enough to let me talk, I guess I'll do it now."

"Feel free to shut me up any time you want." She replied, running a hand through his hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said in return, pulling her in and holding her close. Lost in each other's arms, Lily and RJ felt good to finally be where they were meant to be. They had found each other at last.


	13. Camille's Big Date

A/N: Just have to apologise in advance if it's a little while before my next update. There's some personal stuff going on that I won't go into on a public forum. I've tried not to leave the story on a cliffhanger, and will update as soon as I can.

Casey was distracted from his locking up duties as he saw her return. He fumbled with the keys to find the one for the front door, opening it up to allow her in.

"You know, I had kind of given it even odds on you coming back." He told her with a cheeky smile as he placed a hand softly on her hip. Camille winced a little, expecting pain to follow, though quickly found herself enjoying the sensation. His touch was warm, genuine and tender. Her thoughts drifted again to that wonderful time all those years ago when she had served by Dai Shi's side during the first great conflict. Dai Shi had treated her so well back then. Things were different. They were better. He had recruited her as a cub from Pai Zhuq, though he had done so with wit and charm. She could recall the day fondly.

She could remember having a fantastically bruised backside, since her master had insisted on constantly dumping her on her on her ass. She was once again in the clearing just a little beyond the boundaries of the compound crying her eyes out over her continual failure to improve. It was then that she'd met him. He approached her quietly, not even registering his presence in her mind as he approached her.

"Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't ruin those cheeks by crying." He told her. She surveyed the intruder as she prepared to unload her venom, though she found herself spellbound by his presence, and found it hard enough to breathe let alone protest against what he had said. He was Asian, a little shorter than herself and impressively toned. He was only wearing a pair of training shorts, and so she had gorged herself on his amazing body. His eyes had a darkness to them which was simultaneously unnerving and yet enticing. Camille was unable to doubt him or his intentions as he approached her. "You know you shouldn't give up, one day you will be the one making THEM suffer."

Camille merely smirked at this thought, still too sore to stand upright. "I'm nowhere near good enough to challenge the masters." She told the new arrival. "I spend half my time on the ground, and the other half being lectured about how much I mess up."

He chuckled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Do you really think the winner of a war is the better fighter?" He asked. Camille found herself staring at the ground. She'd never thought of strategy. She'd always thought of fights being one-on-one. She approached the stranger with interest.

"So what makes someone the winner of a war?" She asked. The stranger looked intently into her eyes, as though assessing her very soul. He cocked a confident little smile. "The winner of a fight is the one who walks away." He informed the eager young student. "The other guy crawls away if he's lucky, otherwise he gets carried away. You've picked the winning side."

Camille stared at him dumbfounded. What did he mean?

"Your masters berate you for failing to win." He told her. "Of course they give you a set of rules to compete within. Of course, if you disobeyed them..."

"That would not be honourable." Camille interrupted him. "I would win, but my victory would..."

"Be a victory." Her saviour answered her. "History does not recognise honourable losers, it remembers WINNERS! From now on, you will honour victory over effort."

"But my master..." Her words were cut off by his soft touch as he began gently stroking her spine with his fingers. She felt a jolt of electricity running down the length of her spine that took her breath away, and excited her. He made her heart race in a way she had never felt before. She felt warmth, excitement, she felt...passion.

"My name is Dai Shi." He told her. "Stick with me, and your potential is unlimited. I will always make the best of you. You will be a legend!"

Camille smiled as she heard this. She had never considered being anything more than a student. Her master had ensured that much with his constant criticism. "Me? A legend?"

"The only limit to how far you can go is the ones you place on yourself." Dai Shi stated with a confident smile. "Continue to train with the masters, they can teach you the basics. However, you will meet me in this clearing at sundown every day from now on. Here, I will give you your REAL training."

She watched him go, unable to respond through her own pounding heartbeat. The mystery man was obviously another student, she knew that much about him since she had seen him around the temple, and he did not have the tattoo of a master. However, that was all she knew about this enigmatic Dai Shi. He spoke of breaking the rules and giving her real training. She knew she should report such treasonous talk to the masters, but she found herself compelled to believe him. He had a charismatic aura about him that made everything he said seem compelling. She felt an irresistible urge to follow him, and resolved to agree to his terms. Rubbing her bruised rear, she thought about her master, and how good it would be to make the old goat pay for every second of pain he inflicted upon her. It was that day that started her on the path that would ultimately lead to her becoming an enemy of the Pai Zhuq temple.

Her memory faded and she was brought back into reality as Casey called her assumed name a little louder.

"Carly, What film do you want to see?" He asked her. It was only then that Camille realised that they were no longer at the restaurant, but at the box office of the cinema. In her reminiscing about her past with Dai Shi, she hadn't noticed that they had already arrived. She glanced at the posters. She didn't really know anything about movies, so she wasn't all that concerned. Her gaze stopped over one of the posters, depicting a man and a woman in a tight embrace, looking longingly into each other's eyes, and remembered a time when Dai Shi used to look at her like that. She gestured to the poster. "How about that one?" She asked.

Casey smiled as he saw her choice. He wasn't much into romantic films, but he was willing to put up with it. After all, chick flicks were always a good way to get a date in the mood for a little romance themselves. He handed over the money to the desk clerk and headed to the concessions stand for some popcorn as Camille's thoughts drifted back to that time.

Camille found herself once again flat on her back in the clearing during one of Dai Shi's training sessions. He wasn't gentle on her during training by any means; however, she didn't mind this. He had explained that this would only make her a better warrior, and get her used to actual conflict. Besides, unlike her own master, Dai Shi didn't punctuate every time she ended up on the ground with unnecessary cruelty. He would flash her that smile that made her heart melt every time she saw it as he helped her back to her feet, and gently explain what she did that resulted in him besting her.

"I'm not sure I'm a good student." She muttered as he helped her back to her feet. "I just don't have the right stuff. I can access my animal spirit, but I just don't have much power."

"Do you remember what I told you about limits?" Dai Shi asked her. Camille looked away and tried hard to remember.

"The only limits are the ones I put on myself." She answered. Dai Shi smiled at her and nodded.

"You're not a bad student; you just have a bad teacher." He told her.

"But you're my teacher." She answered in confusion. Dai Shi laughed a little at this.

"I'm pleased you see me that way, but I was meaning Master Ursa." He explained. "He just doesn't know how to get the best from his students. He may have been the mighty bear once, but he should have retired years ago."

"So what can I do?" She asked him.

"You have no idea how much power one can draw from their animal spirit." Dai Shi explained. "You could always draw on it's dark energies."

"But that is forbidden!" She shrieked at his suggestion. "We are never to harness the dark energies of our animal spirits."

"It is only power, it's the intentions of the user that make it good or evil." Dai Shi explained, putting his arm around her and holding her in a warm embrace. She felt her doubts melt away into nothingness as he held her in his arms. "To deny yourself half your power before you begin is nothing short of lunacy. It would be like fighting with only one arm."

Camille couldn't argue with his logic, he had a point. She felt his soft touch as he turned her face to his, kissing her gently. Her breath almost failed her as he did this, and her heart threatened to explode within her chest. She looked at her unofficial master, catching the warmth of his eyes.

"There is only one more thing for you to do." He told her. "You must defeat Master Ursa in single combat."

"But he is more powerful than I am." She whispered. "His bear spirit would crush me in seconds."

"But he only fights with one arm." Dai Shi reminded her. "You fight with both, and he will be the one who stares up at you in defeat."

Camille's attention was brought back into the present as she felt Casey taking her hand. She found again the novel situation that there was no pain in his touch. There was no malice. His touch was soft, warm and gentle. He actually meant her no harm; it had been so long since she'd had that with Dai Shi. Looking over at the Red Ranger, she could see his eyes had glazed over, and he was not paying attention to the movie. Obviously he had only agreed to go to this film because she had wanted to go. It was so long since someone had done something just for her. Her mind drifted back again to the early days of her union with Dai Shi.

Master Ursa stared up at her from the stone floor of the temple, blood running down his face from the multiple vicious wounds she had inflicted. Camille stood, staring in disbelief at her blood-stained hands. Dai Shi had been right, by harnessing the dark energies of her animal spirit; she had assumed a hideous, reptilian form which granted her incredible power. The old master had been no match for her as she pummelled him, dismissively swatting him aside like a troublesome bug.

"You have harnessed the dark powers of your animal spirit!" He called out, looking at her in horror. Looking around, Camille saw the looks of disgust on the faces of the assembled masters and students who had gathered to witness the challenge. One by one they all turned their backs on her, all except for the eldest of the masters.

"You are forever banished from this temple!" He announced with authority. "You are not worthy to be among us."

"Not worthy?" Dai Shi laughed, stepping into the centre of the courtyard, placing his arm around Camille. "Were you watching the same fight? She crushed the senile old fool!"

"I am aware that you have not always played by the rules young student." Master Ursa snorted, pulling himself back to his feet. "But even you cannot condone the use of the dark energies."

"You'd be amazed what I can do." He sneered, surging forward to the attack. He seized the old master in a tight headlock, and wrenched him strongly. The ominous crack reverberating around the temple heralded the old man's passing. Dai Shi tossed his lifeless body 

dismissively to the ground. For the first time since the temple was built, a life was taken within it's walls. "Do not shed any tears as we leave. I can assure you we'll be back."

Camille stared in horror at the broken corpse of Master Ursa. She had no idea that Dai Shi intended to kill him, or anyone, and yet she followed him. He had been the only one to show her kindness, and had earned her loyalty. She couldn't turn from him now, even if she wanted to, she had nowhere else to go. Whispering a gentle goodbye to her old life, she used the technique her new master had taught her and teleported with him to their new home.

The music hit the crescendo as the final reel of the film played, and inevitably the beautiful young girl had ditched the loveless, selfish rich boy at the altar and ran through the streets in her wedding dress to find the man she truly loved, the lowly, poor though unbearable kind hearted store owner. Finding him in the store, she rushed into his arms and locked into a passionate kiss as the credits began to scroll.

She sneered a little at the ending. Why would she even consider going with the store owner? He had no power, no influence, what could he offer her? The rich man had respect. He had influence and he could get anything he wanted. He was strong, just like Dai Shi. She thought once more about her master as she played with her bracelet nervously. She could imagine him in the role of the rich suitor. The difference, of course, was that if the partner he wanted had dared to run off to the store owner, he'd have destroyed them both. As she thought about the man she loved, she shifted in her seat, feeling the dagger digging into her a little, and remembered her purpose there. Seeing the other patrons beginning to file out of the theatre, she squeezed Casey's hand gently and looked him in the eyes.

"I've had a wonderful time tonight." She told him, shifting a little closer. "Do you mind if we wait a little while?"

Casey couldn't believe his luck as she said this. This amazingly attractive woman had not only come back to the restaurant to honour her agreement to go out with him, she actually seemed to like him. She asked him to wait behind, and Casey knew what that generally meant. He looked around, watching the last of the patrons leave. "What did you have in mind?" He asked.

Camille moved over to his seat, sitting in his lap and placing an arm around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. Casey's eyes opened wide for a moment in shock, but it quickly passed and he allowed himself to enjoy the moment, closing his eyes and putting his arms around her. Camille took one last look to ensure no one was left in the theatre, before slowly drawing the dagger. However, her hand stayed a little while as she felt an amazing sensation wash over her.

All of a sudden, she could remember those early days with Dai Shi. He had been so affectionate with her back then. His touch paralysed her with joy; his kisses took her into a whole new world, one where only they existed. The Red Ranger was young, though he clearly knew what he was doing. Camille felt amazing in his grasp, all those years of denial. All those years that Dai Shi had slowly grown less affectionate.

She could recall how much it hurt the first time he had denied her his touch during the Great War all those years ago. He had already changed form a few times; taking on a new vessel each time his current one was no longer of use to him. It always shocked her when he came back to her with a new body. Some were better than others, though he always chose a strong host body. She found it difficult at first to accept when he changed form, but she knew that inside he was the same man, the man she loved. If anyone could understand the insignificance of a person's appearance, then it was the wielder of the chameleon spirit.

Over time, the affection and the tenderness just stopped. The only time he touched her now was when he was punishing her for her latest transgression. Now the only sensation she got from his touch was pain. She was totally distracted as she lost herself in the sensation of just having someone touch her without meaning to hurt her, punish her for her mistakes. Realising that she couldn't perform the deed like this, she broke the kiss, shoving back his head against the back of the chair. Casey's smile slipped as he saw the knife in her hand.

"What the hell?" He screamed, seeing the weapon pointed towards him. What was going on? Why was this happening? Was he just the unlucky victim of a total psycho? He tried to get up, only to be forced back down by his date's surprising strength.

"Shut up Red Ranger." Camille snarled, taking on her true form. Casey suddenly realised his position and reached for his pocket…finding nothing there. 'Crap!' He though to himself as he realised he had changed his jacket. His morpher was back at the restaurant.

Camille raised the dagger over head, and looked into the Red Ranger's soft, brown eyes. She tried, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to strike. She remembered all the kindness she'd been shown over the past couple of days. RJ comforting her in the park, the free pizza she'd gotten that night, him cooking for her at the manor house, and the soft, warm touch as he comforted her following her emotional display the night she tried to lure the Yellow Ranger to her doom.

Even the Red Ranger had shown her kindness. He'd let her off with the bill when she couldn't pay her tab at the restaurant. He'd treated her well during the date, and he'd affected her deeply with the kiss. Tears began to form in her eyes as she tried to follow her master's orders.

"Turn around." She snapped at him.

"I'm not going to make this easy for you Camille." He stammered, the fear obvious in his voice, though his conviction showing his true courage. "If you want to do this, you're going to have to look me in the eyes when you do."

The dagger couldn't hold still in her grasp as her hand began shaking. Something inside her snapped and she threw the dagger aside. She just couldn't do it. She was unable to murder him in cold blood. Casey noticed the runes on her bracelet turn bright red shortly before she collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony.

"What's happening?" He asked, seeing her thrashing around in obvious pain. Seeing the glowing bracelet, he surmised that must have something to do with it. He grabbed the metal band, trying to force it off her wrist, though finding himself being hurled through the air as a flash of burning energy raced up his arm, causing him tremendous pain. Now he understood her plight. If that's what it felt like with just a second's contact, it must be torture for her being unable to remove it. The runes on the bracelet then changed colour, turning blue, and Camille disappeared from sight. He'd never have thought it possible, but he felt sorry for her.

Back at Dai Shi's fortress, Camille threw herself onto the floor, begging forgiveness.

"I'm sorry sire. I did not mean to fail you." She sobbed apologetically, awaiting his wrath. This was by far the greatest of her failures. This time she would not get away with mere pain. This time she knew it was serious.

"You had him helpless and alone and you did NOTHING!" He roared, calling forth the bracelet's power again. By now Camille was almost completely drained. The constant pain wracking her body had sapped all of her strength from her. She wasn't even able to get back to her feet herself as he finally ended her torment. She had to be helped to her feet by some nearby Renshi warriors.

"I could not slay him while he was defenceless." She admitted, staring at the floor, unable to look at him. "Something inside me wouldn't let me."

"If you cannot slay him while he's helpless, then perhaps in the heat of battle." He suggested. "It is time for you to face the Rangers." He glared at her with that darkness in his eyes that had both frightened and thrilled her all those years ago. "You will go alone. Do not expect any assistance."

"But sire…" Her protest was cut off as the bracelet's energy shot through her body once more, and the crippling, burning pain shot through her. Dai Shi released her after a while. With no further protest, she vanished from sight.

Casey rushed back to the restaurant, waking everyone up with the racket he made as he barrelled through the door of the back room.

"Guys, Camille just attacked me." He yelled as RJ and Theo rushed into the room to see what the commotion was. Lily slowly made her way in just behind them.

"I thought you went on a date with that customer." Theo commented. "Is she ok?"

"Camille was the customer." Casey explained. "We were at the movies, and she pulled out this weird looking dagger thing and tried to stab me."

"What happened?" Theo asked him.

"That's the really weird thing." Casey stated, a look of confusion crossing his face. "She had me bag to rights, then she just sort of…refused to do it."

"She just didn't do it?" RJ said quizzically, clearly as confused as Casey by this point. "How did she have you cornered?"

Casey tried to think of an explanation. He didn't exactly want to admit kissing one of their sworn enemies, or being fooled into that position by his would-be assassin. "I forgot my morpher." He admitted, trying to get the attention away from the fact he'd allowed her to quite literally get on top of him. "I changed jackets before the date and forgot to switch it into the new jacket."

Lily had to suppress a small giggle. Casey looked at her confused for a second. Remembering how Lily had caught out him and Fran with the smell of her perfume on his clothes, Theo pointed at Casey and began laughing.

"What's so funny?" RJ asked.

"Camille must have gotten pretty…close…to put Casey in that position." Theo explained.

"They were on a date." RJ responded. "Of course they were close; she was probably sitting right next to him."

"Or maybe on him?" Lily suggested. Casey turned as red as his jumpsuit as she said this. Now it was RJ's turn to laugh at Casey's expense.

"Only you could get into a situation like that." He chuckled. Suddenly, the surveillance system's alarm bleeped.

"It's time for action guys." RJ announced. "Casey's girlfriend just showed up across town."

"Shut up, she's not my girlfriend." Casey snapped. "I wouldn't mind a bit of payback though."

"Just remember to take some protection." Theo sniggered, handing him his morpher.

"Someone will have to lead me there." Lily reminded them, looking out her own morpher. She had morphed once before since her accident, but this was the first time she would be taking part in a battle with the others. Strangely enough though, she wasn't worried about it. She was actually looking forward to it. She was looking forward to proving herself to the guys, but mostly to RJ.

The guys arrived, finding Camille in her reptilian form, waiting for them.

"It's time you were leaving." Casey yelled, launching himself at her with his junglechuks. Camille blocked the blow, slashing wildly at his chest.

"I must destroy you all!" She yelled loudly. "I must prove myself to my master!"

"Give it up Camille!" Lily snarled, smashing her in the chest with her Jungle bo. Camille pulled herself to her feet, realising she was outmatched against the three Rangers. She watched in fear as they called forth the Claw Cannon.

"My lord, I am too weak to survive this." She called out. "Please, allow me to flee."

The runes on her bracelet again began to glow red, and she felt that all-too-familiar agony coursing through her body.

"What's going on?" Theo asked. "We're not even touching her!"

"I can hear her screaming!" Lily added. "Casey, what's happening?"

Casey felt a swell of pity forming inside him as he recalled the exact same thing happening at the theatre. "Charge the Cannon." He commanded.

Lily and Theo leant the cannon the energy from their animal spirits as Camille continued to thrash around in anguish. She looked up at the Red Ranger with tears streaming down her face, as she got back to her feet. It was as though she was looking straight into his eyes.

"Please, have mercy." She begged him.

"That's exactly what I plan to do." He told her, grabbing the barrel of the weapon and re-aiming it.

"Casey what the hell are you doing?" Theo asked. Before he could say anything else, Casey fired. Camille's left arm took the hit, the majority of the force centred on the bracelet. She fell backwards, injured, though alive as the pieces of her shattered bracelet fell to the ground. Crawling around slowly, she started to gather the pieces and desperately started placing them together, as though somehow hoping it would magically repair itself.

"It's destroyed Camille." Casey told her. "You're free."

"But my master gave it to me." She sobbed. "He gave it to me to keep me close. He gave it to me because he loves me."

"He gave it to you to make you his slave." Lily stated. "Haven't you figured it out yet? He doesn't care about you. If he did he wouldn't have put you in such danger."

"He doesn't care?" She breathed, barely able to comprehend the concept. She'd followed him for so long, loved him for so long the thought never even occurred to her that he didn't return her feelings. Throwing the pieces of the bracelet away, she ran off, vanishing into the night.

"Where's she going?" Theo asked.

"I don't know." Casey replied, powering down. "But I hope for her sake she's wised up and isn't going back to Dai Shi."


	14. The Big Talk

A/N: The personal situation that I mentioned has now (thankfully) rectified itself, so hopefully I can get back to regular updating. Thanks to everyone for their patience, and a special thanks to those who sent messages of support, it really was appreciated.

The Rangers arrived back at the restaurant after the battle. It had been a thoroughly confusing night all things considered. Camille had tried to assassinate Casey, only to refuse to do it, then Dai Shi forced her into battle with them, refusing to allow her to flee, and then Casey released her from some kind of punishment device that Dai Shi was using to torture her before allowing her to flee into the night without any attempt to stop her.

As they arrived back, RJ rushed towards them, only just stopping short of the three Rangers. His heart had swelled with pride as he saw Lily fare so well in her first full Ranger battle since her accident, and he wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into his arms, though he managed to restrain himself for the sake of her privacy. They hadn't yet told the guys about "the talk" yet, and now wasn't really the time. The guys kind of needed to debrief from the battle, and everyone was more than a little tired. Really all any of them wanted was to go to bed and get some sleep. That conversation could wait until the morning.

"You guys did great!" He complimented them. He wanted to reach out and touch Lily to let her know how proud he was of her. She couldn't see his jubilant expression, but he saw her smiling a little and figured she must have picked up something in his tone of voice. He was pleased to see that level of understanding between them, it reassured him that the bond he felt with her was as strong as his feelings for her. "I couldn't have been prouder of any of you."

"What's so great about it?" Theo asked him. "Camille was all but defenceless. She was in no fit state to fight us, what was Dai Shi thinking?"

"I think Dai Shi sent her after us as a punishment for not killing me. When she refused to attack me in the theatre, she collapsed like she was in agony." Casey explained. "I noticed her bracelet glowing and tried to take it off, only to feel an intense pain myself. When I saw her during the battle, I saw that the bracelet was glowing again."

"That's why she stopped attacking." Theo surmised. "So why did you fire the Claw Cannon? Given how weak she was, you could have destroyed her."

"I should have figured it out in the theatre." Casey continued. "If the bracelet was causing her so much pain, but she didn't just remove it herself, then I knew it would take a lot more power than I had alone to get it off her."

"So you always intended to use it to destroy the bracelet." Theo stated, realising the intention. "But why did you help her?"

"I owed her one." Casey reminded him. "She had me bang to rights in the theatre, but she couldn't go through with it. I think Lily was right about her. I think there is a part of her that's still good."

"I felt like such an idiot when she told me how I helped her." Lily sighed, recalling how Camille had come to the restaurant in disguise, complaining about a boss who thought she was useless. She'd advised her to get a new boss, leading to her reviving Jellica, overlord of the sea. Camille had called her a sentimental fool and left her feeling really bad about herself. RJ came over to her placing his arm around her in a not-inappropriate-for-her-master kind of way, hoping to make her feel better, but kind of glad that the opportunity presented itself for him to hold her without rousing suspicion from the others.

"She had to justify it to herself." RJ explained. "She was still following Dai Shi. She did it for him, and had to feel like she'd somehow used you. Do remember that she did free Casey and Theo."

"She said she always repays her debts." Lily recalled, smiling a little as she recalled the conversation. She felt her heart beating a little faster as she enjoyed the sensation of the man she loved putting his arm around her. "I suppose she has some concept of fair play."

"She has a conscience." Theo concluded. "That means she has hope for redemption."

"In the meantime, we have no idea what she's doing." RJ sighed. "Until she makes her intentions clear, we have to treat her as a potential threat."

"The state she was in when she ran off, I doubt she'll be much threat to anyone." Theo commented.

"I beg to differ." RJ stated. "She's alone, wounded, disorientated and confused. She's also still a highly dangerous and powerful warrior."

"She's like a wounded animal." Casey interjected. "She could easily become a powerful ally, or a dangerous enemy."

"Camille could become our ally?" Theo questioned him. "Are you serious?"

"You know what they say about a woman scorned." RJ suggested to his student. "Dai Shi's lead her on, used and abused her for thousands of years. I'm pretty sure that satisfies the definition of 'scorn' don't you?"

Theo nodded and conceded the point. She did have a pretty big motive for seeking revenge, and that could be used to turn her back to the right side of the conflict. Of course in her current mental state she could also be turned back to Dai Shi, or worse still, go off the rails completely and lash out in all directions.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Casey informed them, yawning as he turned and headed off in the direction of the guy's room.

"I'll come with you." Theo told him, shoving him playfully and chuckling a little. "So tell me, is Camille a good kisser?"

"Shut up." Casey groaned, too exhausted to mount any better protest. RJ found himself alone with Lily at last, putting his other arm around her and holding her closer to him.

"I watched you during the battle. You were amazing." He whispered in her ear. Lily turned a little pink and shrunk into his grasp, putting her own arms around his waist.

"I just did what you taught me." She responded softly.

"I was so proud of you." He told her, pressing his forehead to hers. "I love you."

Lily began pulling him towards her, reaching for another kiss, only for RJ to block her with a pair of fingers to her lips.

"Nothing would make me happier." He explained. "But if we are going to do this, we have to consider that the others live here. We should wait until we tell them what's happening before we start with the whole 'couple stuff' in the shared areas. Don't you think?"

Lily was a little disappointed at being denied feeling his kiss once more, but she conceded that he had a point. They were in the main room, and it would only be awkward for everyone involved if Casey or Theo walked in on them. RJ was right, they had to be told. She nodded gently to show that she understood his way of thinking.

"Of course, they're not likely to walk in on us in your room." He suggested nervously. "Perhaps I could kiss you goodnight?"

"I'd like that." She replied, smiling broadly. "I've waited this long already; I guess I can wait until I get to my room." She replied, feeling a little more at ease. She sniggered as RJ breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't think of him being nervous around her, he was always so calm and confident, but obviously he'd hoped she didn't get the wrong idea about his intentions towards her. After all he did just suggest going to her room so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Then maybe you should travel in style." He suggested, scooping her up in his arms. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck for support, feeling totally secure in his grasp. She rested her head against his shoulder as he carried her to the room. Hearing his heart beating within his chest, she smiled as she realised it was beating faster than usual and smiled. He felt as strongly as she did, and she now had confirmation. He carried her inside and gently laid her down.

"I believe you were planning on giving me something." She commented. RJ cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, taking her once again to that wonderful place in her heart where they were completely lost in each other. The place she had always wanted to be.

"Good night." He whispered, leaving her on the bed.

"Good night RJ." She replied as he left.

The next morning, Lily was roused from her rest with a soft touch on the shoulder, pulling her away from a wonderful dream. She knew it had been a pleasant dream, she just wished she could remember it. The gentle touch on her shoulder was soft, and she could feel the fingers quivering a little nervously. She knew it could only be one person.

"Good morning RJ." She greeted him.

"I haven't put on any aftershave yet, and I washed thoroughly last night." He commented. "What gave me away this time?"

She turned over, facing towards him. "Who else would have the nerve to come into my room and wake me up?" She answered. RJ chuckled as she told him this.

"Well I suppose Theo and Casey have been warned off coming into your room." He responded. "No one else is up yet, I just wanted to talk to you before we open up."

She shifted herself into a seating position and gestured for him to sit down on the edge of the bed. RJ accepted the invitation, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

"I think we should tell the others before the doors open." He told her. "If we are all going to work together…"

"I might not come back to work." She interrupted him. RJ breathed a sigh; he didn't even want to think about the possibility of that outcome.

"Remember what I said, even the doctors don't know yet, you could be fine." He reminded her. "Until we know otherwise it's best to look on the bright side."

"But what if…"

"If the worst happens, I'll be here for you." He stated, cutting her off to stop her talking herself into despair. She had done this once or twice already, and it always broke his heart to see how it affected her.

"RJ, I'm serious," she snapped, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, "I might never recover my sight. What'll we do then? I won't be able to work; I won't be able to…"

RJ cut her off with a soft kiss. "If you must talk about this then we will." He whispered gently to her, stroking her hair. "You've already made amazing progress mastering the Swoop Technique, you'll learn to live with it if the worst happens, we both will."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, she couldn't help smiling as he said that. 'We _both_ will. He was already thinking about a future with her. She couldn't believe that he felt for her so much. He wasn't looking for a back door out of it, and as much as it would have broken her heart, she probably would have understood if he did. He was going to stick by her.

"If you can learn the swoop technique, then how hard is it going to be to learn to use a white stick? Or learn to read Braille?" He asked her.

"I suppose I'd get the hang of it eventually." She mused, shrugging her shoulders.

RJ pulled her closely, hugging her tightly. He didn't want to have this conversation, but now it was over, he felt like it had served a purpose. He had been avoiding letting Lily talk about it because he wanted her to stay positive. It was only now he realised she needed to work out these thoughts. She needed to think about the changes she'd have to make to her life. She needed to think about how she'd fend for herself. He knew she'd never want to be dependant on another person that just wasn't like her. But more importantly, it served a purpose for him. Now, more than ever he knew his feelings for her were no mere infatuation. He was thinking about how they'd make a life together.

"Will you still love me?" She asked, drawing away. "Even if you know this will be permanent?"

RJ looked at her with a warm smile on his face. Drawing close, he placed another tender kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he held her chin with his hand. "I didn't fall in love with your eyes." He answered. "I fell in love with you."

"I guess we better get ready for the guys getting up." She told him, wiping an errant tear from her cheek. "I'm sure they'll probably have something to say about this."

"Not if they want pay cheques." He joked, opening her dresser drawer and looking out an outfit for her. "Do you want to train today?"

"Of course I do." She replied, collecting her spare dressings and heading for the door. "I'll never master this if I cry off just because I'm dating my master."

"Don't we need to have a date first before we're technically dating?" He asked her.

"I guess so." She replied. "How would you like to take me to lunch?"

"Sure." He stated. "Do you have any preferences?"

"I'll go for anything that isn't pizza." She replied with a small blush. "Since I wasn't able to cook or leave the restaurant, it's kind of been my staple diet."

"I think I know somewhere." He told her. "Enjoy your shower."

Dragging her hand along the left hand wall, making her way to the bathroom, she felt happy, knowing that RJ was with her. She was looking forward to her first date, but first, she had to deal with one small hurdle. They had to tell their friends.

Fran, Theo and Casey had finished setting up in the restaurant when RJ led Lily down the stairs. The first thing they noticed was that he wasn't wearing his kitchen whites.

"I take it we're on our own for lunch today." Casey stated with a shrug. "That's ok; I guess Lily must be going a little stir crazy up there. It'll do her good to get out for some fresh air."

"Have a good time Lily." Theo told her, touching her shoulder gently. "Since you won't be upstairs, we don't need to worry if we burn the place down."

"You better not!" RJ yelped, worried that the suggestion was probably not that unrealistic leaving them alone in his pride and joy.

"He's joking RJ, the restaurant will be exactly as you left it." Fran stated. RJ gave her a slightly less than convinced look. It was a worrying thought that he was relying on her testimony that the restaurant would be alright.

"Anyway guys, there's something I want to talk to you about." He began.

"Oh, is it Ranger business? I understand." Fran muttered as she began to leave.

"Fran, you're dating Theo, and you know they're Rangers." He reminded her. "Kicking you out every time we had to discuss Ranger business would be a little pointless now wouldn't it? No, it's not Ranger business, it's more personal."

"What is it RJ?" Casey asked. "Is someone fired?"

"Is it me?" Fran shrieked. "I don't need the big salary Casey gave me, I can…"

"You're not fired Fran." RJ groaned, stroking the bridge of his nose.

"What did I do?" Casey yelled next. "You're still only paying me peanuts…"

"No-one's fired!" He roared over the collective panic. "Because we're all going to be working together, and in the case of myself and the guys, living together, I think it's only fair to tell you. Lily and I are seeing each other."

Lily could imagine the expressions on their faces as the room plunged into silence.

"Does anyone want to say anything?" RJ asked.

"When did this happen?" Fran yelped.

"Does this mean the two of you will be getting the best shifts?" Theo blurted out.

"You're a master, and she's your student. Is that even allowed?" Casey inquired.

"Will you be sharing a room from now on?" Theo stuttered. RJ halted them by holding up his hands to signal them to stop.

"In that order, we've been falling for each other for a while but only got together last night. No. Yes, to the best of my knowledge and finally No, we've only been together for one night, but that's none of your business anyway." RJ responded, pointing to each of his interrogators in turn as he answered each of their questions. "Understandably changes in the way things are done will occur, but as long as we all respect each other's right to privacy and exercise a little understanding it shouldn't be a problem."

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Fran cheered, coming over and hugging them both enthusiastically.

"Lily and I are kind of like brother and sister, so I guess by tradition I'm meant to tell you I'll break your legs if you hurt her." Casey said with a lopsided grin, extending a hand for a handshake. "If the two of you think you're doing the right thing, then I'm ok with it. But no kicking me out of my room! If you want privacy, find somewhere else."

"I'd probably beat you if you tried, but I appreciate the sentiment, and thanks for your support." RJ told him.

"You wouldn't need to." Lily chipped in, punching Casey hard in the shoulder. "I'd kick his ass. But thanks, I'm glad you're ok with it."

"Theo, this affects you too, how do you feel?" RJ asked, noting that he was still leaning against the fridge, not coming over to greet them as the others had. Lily's smile slipped a little, his silence spoke volumes. Obviously something was on his mind.

"Are you guys sure this is the right thing?" He asked them. "I mean, it wasn't long ago Lily had her accident."

"Theo that has nothing…"

"Let him finish." RJ interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "He has something to say."

"It's just…none of this came about before then." He commented. "Lily, are you sure you aren't just clinging to him because of everything he's done for you?"

"Theo, that's not fair!" Lily snapped.

"RJ, are you positive that you don't just feel some obligation to look after her because of what happened?" He continued. "If it's the real thing then I'm happy for you, but I don't want either of you getting hurt. Do you think this would have happened if it wasn't for the accident?"

RJ squeezed Lily tightly, already feeling her muscles tighten. What Theo had said had upset her, and he could tell she didn't want to hear it but Theo's fears were valid. He had to voice them, and he deserved an answer.

"I can't answer that. I don't know if we'd have gotten together if the accident hadn't happened. The main reason we've spent so much time together and gotten to know each other so well is because I've been taking care of her and training her." He began honestly. "But I can tell you on my side that I know my feelings are genuine. I've seen things in Lily that are nothing short of amazing. She makes me feel like the kind of person I always wanted to be, and I know that I for one will feel the same about her regardless of what happens when we go back to the hospital."

"RJ's been there for me more than anyone in my life." Lily stated. "He's helped me through so much, I can't help but be grateful, but this isn't just gratitude. I want to be with him. He knows more about me than anyone, he's the kind of man I always wanted to be with, and it just took this for me to see that."

Theo approached slowly, still a little sceptical about the whole thing, but extended his hand to RJ. "Like I said, if it's the real thing, then I'm happy for you. I just didn't want anything to hurt either of you."

"I appreciate you looking out for us." RJ said sagely, accepting his handshake. "It took a lot of guts to say that, I'm proud of you."

Theo came over to Lily, who was still a little tense. He pulled her in, hugging her warmly. "I didn't mean to upset you." He told her. "You've been my best friend for years; I'd never want anything to hurt you."

"Thanks Theo." She said softly, accepting the hug.

"So what are you guys doing today?" Fran asked them.

"We're going to lunch for our first official date." RJ informed them cheerfully as he took Lily by the arm. "As for the rest of you, the restaurant should have opened ten minutes ago."

With that, Fran, Casey and Theo made their way into the restaurant to open up in time for the proverbial plague of locusts to descend on them for the busy weekend lunch time, RJ led Lily from the restaurant for the first time since her intended suicide mission to save him from Camille. It felt good to walk arm-in-arm with her. It felt like they were always meant to be with each other, like two halves of the same whole. He felt her reach her other arm across his abdomen and smiled. There was no way this was just a reaction to her condition.

This was love.


	15. A Busy Day

RJ and Lily arrived at a small Chinese restaurant a little after mid day. It wasn't especially busy, so RJ knew they'd find a table easily. The head waiter approached them at the door.

"RJ, it's been a long time." He commented, welcoming the pair. "Would you like your usual table?"

"Do you come here often?" Lily asked, slightly surprised by the idea of RJ eating out. He was normally highly critical and fussy about food, which was one of the main reasons he'd opened JKP in the first place. He reasoned that if he cooked the food himself, that he had some control over it's quality, and since he was so picky himself, he knew his food would go down well with others.

"I do have a life outside of JKP." He reminded her. "This is the best place in town; Charlie here taught me everything I know about restaurants."

"My name's not really Charlie." The head waiter explained to Lily. "But when RJ was my sous chef, he kept saying I look like Charlie Chaplin, so the name kind of stuck."

"I'll take the usual table Charlie." RJ told him, suppressing a small laugh at remembering his time working for the man. They had been friends for a long time, and RJ always had time for him. "I'm trying to impress my date."

"It's been a long time since you brought a date here." Charlie remarked. RJ shot his long time friend a hard glare and made a cut-throat signal with his index finger. He didn't want Lily to think she was just one in a long line of ladies he'd taken there. Lily bit her lip as she grinned mischievously. RJ caught the expression and knew it meant trouble. He was simultaneously happy and worried about her reaction. Obviously she wasn't upset about the thought of not being the first person he'd taken there, however, he knew she now had some ammunition for some serious ribbing over dinner, and given her sense of humour, he knew Charlie's careless words would come back to bite him. "You know where it is, I'll just fetch the menus."

RJ led Lily over to the table by the window, the one he always tried to get whenever he came here. The restaurant was on the top floor of a commercial building, and as such had an amazing view over the city. He was just disappointed that Lily couldn't fully enjoy the experience.

"So I'm not the first girl you've brought here." She finally said as RJ sat her down. He knew this was coming, but it didn't make it any less embarrassing. He groaned as he sat down himself.

"I dated a former employee once." He explained. "It didn't work out well."

"I kind of accepted the idea you'd probably dated before, I just never gave it much thought." Lily replied with a small grin. "So how many girls have you brought here?"

"Do you really want to have this conversation?" RJ asked her, half hoping she'd end it for his sake as opposed to hers.

"Well you know all about my dating history." She reminded him. "I don't have one. Now, how many girls have you brought here?"

"Here's Charlie with the menus." He informed her, hoping to change the subject. Charlie handed a menu to RJ, who inspected it thoughtfully. "I'll have Peking ribs followed by mixed vegetables in black bean sauce. How about you Lily, what would you like?"

"Do you serve wonton soup?" She asked.

"Only the best in town." RJ told her.

"Then I'll have wonton soup followed by chicken curry." She stated. Charlie took the menu and left them. "There's no point breathing a sigh of relief, I haven't forgotten I asked you a question."

"Did you?" RJ asked innocently. Lily picked up her napkin and launched it playfully into his face. "Alright, I brought one girl here before you, my former employee."

"Really? The way Charlie brought it up; he made it sound like you had a parade of women through here." She replied cheekily, taking amusement in this cruel and unusual punishment of her date.

"I did date her for close to a year." He explained.

"Like I said, I know you had a life before I arrived, I don't mind." She said reassuringly, reaching out for him. RJ took her hand softly in his. Holding her hand, he barely even noticed Charlie coming back to the table.

"Our first course is here." He told her, releasing her hand as the plates were placed on the table.

"With compliments of the chef." Charlie stated, leaving them to their meal. "Enjoy."

Fran came stumbling into the kitchen with a huge stack of plates, barely making it to the work surface and saving them from imminent destruction.

"RJ picked a good time to go on a date." Theo grumbled, slamming another pizza into the oven.

"Stop whinging Theo, it's not a very attractive habit." She snapped in response. "You should be happy for them; we've had worse lunch times."

"I just think it's great how Lily and RJ get time to go on a date, and we have to squeeze in time whenever we can." He remarked. "I suppose that's the advantage of hooking up with the boss."

"Theo, just shut up and keep cooking." Casey moaned, checking in the kitchen. "Table 14's been waiting for that thrilla gorilla for twenty minutes."

Theo looked over to the counter and saw the offending pizza sitting there uncooked. He'd forgotten to put it in the oven.

"Crap! Casey, stall them, give them a comp. drink or something."

"Already did that twice." He told him, turning around. "On second thoughts just cancel that, they've walked out."

"Great, just great!" Theo snarled, kicking the fridge.

"What the hell is with you?" Fran yelled, rounding on her boyfriend. "Your head hasn't been on straight all day!"

"What do you expect? We're running around like maniacs trying to keep RJ's restaurant in business while he's out on a date with Lily!" He snapped in return. "Of course I'm not thinking straight, I'm pissed off!"

"Well you should consider people's feelings more when you're angry!" She hissed. "How do you think I feel about the fact that you're so upset over Lily dating him? If I didn't know any better I'd swear you only chose me as the consolation prize because Lily didn't want you!"

Theo's heart sank and his anger quickly turned to regret. He had been going on about Lily and RJ since he'd found out, and he only now appreciated it must have sounded like he was jealous. He come over to Fran and hugged her tightly.

"I never meant to make you feel like that." He whispered to her, kissing her cheek. "I guess I have been making too much out of the whole thing. I guess I'm just annoyed that we're busy and I made a mistake."

"So you're alright with them dating?" She asked him.

"I'll get used to the idea." He replied. "Now, let's get back out there before Casey thinks we've ditched him."

As they were about to leave the Kitchen, Swoop arrived, almost bumping into them.

"Hi Theo, sorry about that, how are you?" He asked, greeting his one-time student.

"I'm good, things are going well." He answered. "Master Swoop, this is Fran, she works here."

"That's a very nice perfume you're wearing." Swoop commented, shaking her hand. "So you're the one Theo's been seeing."

"Master Swoop is blind." Theo explained as Fran looked at him a little confused. "He recognised your perfume from the last time he was here. Some of it rubbed off on me's how he knew that."

"Well I'm pleased to meet you." Fran greeted the Pai Zhuq master. "Lily and RJ went out for lunch; it shouldn't be long before they get back."

I guess Lily just got a little tired of the place." Swoop mused as he made his way upstairs. "I'll wait in the back for them."

"Is he the guy that's training Lily?" Fran asked as he left.

"RJ trains her most of the time, but Swoop's the one who invented the Swoop technique." He explained. "He taught RJ how to fight without using his eyesight, and he trained me to levitate and use the Jungle Fan. He's given Lily a training session before; I guess RJ must have called him to ask him to train with her again."

"I kind of like him." Fran commented. "Not as much as you though."

"I'm glad to hear that." He replied, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her close to him. "Otherwise you wouldn't be getting any more of these." With that, he gently kissed her. Unfortunately Casey spoiled the moment as he barged into the kitchen.

"Guys! Am I working by myself today or what?" He snapped. Theo and Fran quickly returned to work to appease their increasingly impatient friend.

Lily and RJ arrived back in the apartment, still laughing and joking as they made their way into the back room. RJ suddenly stopped laughing and let go of Lily as he saw Swoop, wringing his hands through his hair as the realisation came to him.

"Swoop, I'm sorry, I totally forgot I called and asked you to come." He apologised. He turned back to Lily. "I asked Swoop to train with you today, are you feeling up to it?"

"Of course I am." Lily responded, making her way to the sparring mat and taking off her jacket. "I've been looking forward to a rematch since you kicked my butt the last time."

"Well I'm sure you've improved." Swoop stated, making his own way over to the mats.

"I'll be helping the guys in the restaurant." RJ told her, kissing her as before he left. He never noticed Swoop's eyebrows jerk upwards as he did this. He had heard them and realised that RJ was seeing her. Preparing a guard as he got ready to start the lesson, he couldn't help but think that this was an issue he'd have to bring up with his former student.

Later in the day, RJ returned to the back room, finding Lily wiping her forehead with a sweat towel. Swoop seemed a lot more bruised up than he had been the last time.

"She got me." He told RJ. "She put me on the mat twice."

"He's still beating me more than I beat him." Lily commented. "But I'm glad I'm not spending the whole time as a crash test dummy."

"It took me a couple of years to be able to put him down." RJ reminded her with a note of pride in his voice. He scooped her up, holding her tightly. "I'm so proud of you."

"Lily, could I talk with RJ for a moment?" Swoop asked in a serious tone. RJ put Lily down and she left the room obediently.

"What can I help you with?" RJ asked him.

"You know what I'm about to say." Swoop began. "You're seeing her, aren't you?"

"I'm pleased to say that I am." RJ told him with a smile. "She's amazing."

"You have to stop." Swoop stated flatly. "It's forbidden, you know it is."

"That's just…"

"You're a master and she's your student." He stated, interrupting RJ's protest. "I must inform the elders of your conduct."

"Do what you have to Swoop." He replied, crossing his arms defiantly in front of him. "I won't stop seeing her just because the elders don't like it; it's gone too far for that, we love each other."

"You will be hearing about this." Swoop told him, making to leave. RJ grabbed his arm.

"You were my master and I respect you, but I warn you, do not threaten me or Lily again." He hissed aggressively.

"You cannot defy the elders and not expect there to be consequences." Swoop replied, ripping his arm away. "You will be hearing about this."

Swoop left the apartment without another word. Lily came back in as he left, coming to RJ's side.

"What did Swoop want to talk to you about?" She asked.

"It was nothing important." He lied, struggling to retain his temper. He couldn't believe the audacity of his former master to come into his home and start telling him how to run his life, tell him who he could and couldn't fall in love with. He had no right to interfere in his life like that.

Lily could hear the dark tone of his voice and knew he was lying. Holding him she could feel the tension in his muscles. Whatever Swoop had said to him it had obviously upset him badly. He brushed off her hands, heading out of the room.

"I've got some work to do in the restaurant." He told her. "I'll be back later."

Lily was a little hurt by his reaction. He loved her; she knew he did, so why was he shutting her out? Surely anything that upset him he should be able to talk to her about. What was going on with him?

The last of the customers had left and RJ was helping Fran clean up the restaurant. Swoop entered through the door, closely followed by Master Phant and Master Finn.

"Swoop, it's good to see you again." Fran greeted him. "Who are the others?"

"The older one's name is Master Phant, he taught Lily how to use the Jungle Mace and summon the elephant spirit." RJ explained. "The other one's my dad, Master Finn. He taught Casey how to use the Jungle Sabres and call the shark spirit."

"I wish this was a social visit." Swoop said coldly. "Fran, would you mind leaving us for a minute?"

Fran looked to RJ, and only left at his nod. She got the feeling that something serious was going down, and she didn't feel like leaving RJ alone with them was a good idea. She could tell by the tension in his neck, and the clenching of his jaw he was angry about something. She had never seen him so uptight; he looked like he was ready to blow his stack.

"What did the elders have to say?" RJ asked softly. He clenched his fists, struggling to keep his temper in check. He knew why they were here, and he knew what the outcome was likely to be. He was pointedly aware of the fact that the woman he loved was upstairs, and he didn't want to drag her into this. No, this was one battle he planned on facing alone.

"You already know what they will have said." Phant stated. "They have ordered that your relationship with Lily must end."

RJ looked away and shook his head in open refusal to meet with their assertions. Things with Lily were already too serious for that. He couldn't, wouldn't allow them to make him leave her side. He drew himself up to his full height and raised his shoulders to make himself as large as possible. Striding over to the assembled masters, he stopped nose-to-nose with his father, glaring him directly in the eyes. His breath quickened and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he prepared for the inevitable conflict. "My dad already knows how ordering me to do something I don't want to do usually ends." RJ replied defiantly, looking between all three of the masters cautiously. "What happens if I refuse?"

"You will no longer be allowed to be her master." Finn answered, not backing down in the slightest from his son's aggressive invasion of his personal space. "You must cease training her immediately."

"I can't do that." RJ told him, stepping forward. The three masters took a step back as he approached. His eyes burned with fury in their presence. They wanted to take her away from him. There was no way that was happening, he wouldn't let it. "I love her, and I want her to be safe. Training her is the best way to ensure she can take care of herself." He glanced around each of them, internally begging one of them to make a move. "I will not allow the elders to dictate how I live my life based on some archaic rules written when the Order of the Claw was still an order of monks and it's members took a vow of chastity." His voice became low and deliberate as he put across his next point. "In case none of you have noticed, that's no longer the case, is it DAD!"

"Either you end the relationship, or you turn her over to another master." Phant put down bluntly. "Those are the options. Anything else is in direct violation of the elder's direct instructions."

"Then I guess I'm in direct violation of the Elder's direct instructions." RJ stated with authority. "I WILL keep seeing her, and I WILL keep training her. With all due respect, if the elders don't like that, then they can go to hell. Now, I respect all of you, so I will say this as diplomatically as I can. Stay out of my affairs, and get the hell out of my restaurant!"

Swoop shook his head in a defeated manner as RJ finished. Not only was RJ once his student, he was a long time friend. He hated having to do this; it pained him to hurt RJ like this. A part of him wished he hadn't found out about him and Lily, but as soon as he found out he had to tell the elders. It was the tradition of the Pai Zhuq temple to which he'd dedicated most of his life, it was a part of who he was he couldn't turn his back on his core beliefs. He pulled a scroll from his coat and presented it to RJ. RJ knew exactly what this meant, he had been challenged.

"For refusing to heed the word of the elders, you have been challenged to trial by combat." Swoop announced regally. "You will meet with us in the forest by the edge of the city at mid day tomorrow. There one of us shall meet you in single combat."

"I accept the challenge." RJ spat aggressively, snatching the scroll from him. "One of you or all three, I don't care! If this is what I have to do for Lily, then I will face anyone I have to."

"If you win, then the elders will respect your victory and leave the decision up to you." Phant interjected. "If you lose, then you must abide by the elder's choices."

RJ held the tip of the scroll to Phant's throat in a threatening manner. Finn half-drew his swords, only being stopped by a gesture from Swoop. The only thing any of them could hear in the silent restaurant was their own heartbeat. The tension in the room was palpable; it easily had the potential to end in bloodshed. RJ narrowed his eyes at the eldest of the masters.

"Make no mistake, even if I lose I will continue to do as I please, and the elders can be damned." He snarled. "But if kicking the crap out of one of you is what it takes to get those joyless old fascists to back off, then make no mistake about it, that is exactly what I'll do, regardless of if you're a friend of Lily's" He shifted his gaze to Swoop. "My best friend." He shifted his gaze finally to Finn. "Or my family."

The three masters straightened themselves out, before turning and leaving the way they had come. RJ slammed the door shut behind them and locked it. Heading back upstairs, he still couldn't calm down over the whole incident. Clutching the scroll tightly, he stormed up the stairs. As he arrived, he found Lily holding the phone, chewing her nails nervously. Tears were already beginning to run down her face. Forgetting his own anger and his own problems, he rushed to her side, taking her in a warm embrace.

"That was the hospital." She whimpered, feeling the warm comfort of his arms. "They were telling me the time of my appointment."

"When is it?" RJ asked.

"The doctor wants to see me on Wednesday at mid day." She told him. "That's when they'll give me my tests." She wept loudly as RJ held her tighter. "I'm scared, RJ, I'm really scared!"

RJ could understand her fear. They had been kept so busy they hadn't noticed that ten days had already passed. Now Lily had her date with destiny. In four days time, she would know for sure whether or not she would be blind for the rest of her life.

"Everything will be fine." RJ told her, rubbing her back reassuringly. "I'm here; everything's going to be alright."

She pulled away a little as she felt the scroll dig into her back. She ran her hands across the offending article.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." RJ told her, tossing it into the nearby waste paper basket. "All I'm worried about is you."

Lily wasn't satisfied by his answer. She knew he was keeping something from her, but just knowing that he was there by her side made all the difference as she awaited her judgement day. She had thought about the possibility of the worst case scenario, but she'd never allowed herself to believe in the possibility of it. She had always protected herself from it, but in just four short days she couldn't hide from it any longer. In four short days she'd know for a fact, and it terrified the hell out of her. She pulled RJ down into a deep, loving kiss. At least she still had him.


	16. The Trial

RJ rose slowly from his bed the next day, he hadn't slept a wink. He knew this was his day of reckoning; today he faced the masters to justify what he already knew to be true in his heart. He was to face them for her.

Leaving the bedroom, he glanced over to the door of her bedroom with regret. He longed to be near her, touch her, kiss her. He wanted nothing more than to feel her in his arms, but that was exactly why he was in trouble in the first place. He hadn't said anything to Lily because he didn't want to upset her, but he knew there was a mandate against masters beginning a relationship with a student. He simply didn't care! She was everything to him, she was his world.

He sat down by the desk and began writing. His heart poured onto the paper. Sealing the envelope, he placed it in the back pocket of his jeans. He made his way into the back room, finding that Casey had stumbled into the main communal area of the apartment in his tired stupor, no doubt on his way to the bathroom.

"Casey, how are you?" He greeted the Red Ranger.

"I'm alright RJ." He responded in a yawn. "How was Lily last night? I know she was pretty shaken by the whole hospital appointment thing."

"She's fine." RJ told him. "She was upset, but she'll live."

"Lily's a survivor alright." He agreed. "But she did seem pretty badly upset about the whole thing. Maybe we should do something."

"Unfortunately I have something to take care of." RJ explained with a sigh.

"More important than Lily?" Casey questioned him. RJ wished he could tell Casey what was going on, but he knew if he told him, then Lily would find out, and that was the last thing he wanted. If Lily knew what was going on, he'd never be able to deal with it alone. She would never let him face the masters alone, but this was his fight.

"I can't explain, but I need to deal with this on my own." He told his cub. He pulled the envelope from the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to Casey. "I want Lily to know what's in here, but you have to promise me that you won't read it to her before mid day."

Casey took the envelope, more than a little bemused. "RJ, what's this about?"

"I told you, I can't explain." He reiterated. RJ looked into his chest, well aware of how deeply the pain in his heart weakened him. "Give that to Lily after mid day."

"RJ, I'm not really cool with this." Casey told him. "She's like a sister to me, I can't go behind her back, please don't ask me to."

"I'm not asking you to go behind her back." RJ stated, stroking his hand through his hair. "I'm asking you to deliver a message at a certain time. Surely you can do that for your big sister right?"

Casey put the envelope in the waist line of his pyjamas, making his way to the bathroom. "I'll try." He told him. "I'll keep it to myself as long as I can."

RJ watched him go, uncertain as to the wisdom of letting him go. He would surely tell Lily what had happened between them. He only prayed that he'd hold off long enough to let him take on the master's challenge.

Swoop was in the forest, helping the other masters clear the combat area. He hadn't wanted to tell the masters that RJ had gotten involved with Lily. In many ways he was happy for his long time friend that he had someone he loved so dearly. He hated having to stand against him, but he had followed the teachings of the Pai Zhuq temple his entire life, it would have been like denying a part of himself to turn his back on the mandates of the elders. He approached Finn slowly.

"Are you certain we need to do this?" He questioned his long time friend. "He's your son!"

"He is." Finn replied. "So he was well aware of the consequences of his actions."

"It just seems such a barbaric ritual." Swoop protested defiantly. "I don't like having to treat him this way. It isn't fair on him and it isn't fair on Lily."

"He should have thought about that before now." Phant put down with authority.

"He's in love." Swoop reminded the old master. "You remember what it was like to be young and in love, surely."

"I take it that you will not be the one to fight the challenge." Phant responded.

"RJ is my son." Finn interjected. "If any of us must deal with him, I guess it should be me."

"Do you really think you can?" Phant asked him. "You brought him into the world..."

"If need be I will take him out of it." Finn interrupted. "If he will not back down, he has only himself to blame."

"Indeed I do." RJ stated as he arrived in the forest. "I guess it's you I have to fight then dad."

"You know what this fight means." Finn reminded his prodigal son. "You will abide by the outcome."

"If I get to stay with Lily, then it's been worth it." RJ explained, adopting a guarding stance. "Bring it on!"

RJ had left the restaurant early that day. He'd given the others some excuse about sourcing ingredients, but that hadn't washed with any of them. They could all tell he was lying. Fran was the one who finally approached the question they'd all been thinking of.

"What do you suppose he's doing?" She asked looking around her friends thoughtfully.

"If he didn't think it was important enough to tell us, it's probably boring." Theo stated.

"He didn't tell us, but that doesn't mean it wasn't important." Fran said as she slammed the pizza oven shut. "Maybe he didn't tell us anything because he knew we'd try and stop him."

Fran noticed a small, sideways glance from Casey as she said this. Everyone else had missed it, but she already knew Casey knew more than he was willing to admit.

"What's on your mind Casey?" She asked him.

Casey shook his head and turned away. RJ had made him promise not to say anything, so he couldn't betray his confidence. He felt as guilty as hell not saying anything to his friends, but RJ was like a surrogate father to him. He couldn't rat him out like that.

"I know you know more than you're saying." Fran declared loudly. "You have to tell us."

"I'm saying nothing." Casey replied. "RJ asked me not to."

Lily rocked on the couch as she sat there, unable to keep still. The man she loved had left her without a word. She needed to know he was safe, she needed to know everything was alright.

"Casey, if you know anything, then please tell me!" She implored tearfully. "I love him, please; I need to know he's alright."

Casey picked up a can of soda and slurped it loudly. He hated having to lie to Lily, she truly was his sister, but he had promised RJ he wouldn't say anything. "He'll be fine." He told her.

"If you know anything, tell me or I swear I will beat the holy living hell out of you." Lily roared, grabbing him by the lapels. "Where the hell is he?"

"I don't know." Casey told her. "I honestly don't. If I did, I'd have gone with him."

Lily thought about the night beforehand. She'd felt something dig into her back, and she remembered asking RJ about it. He'd told her not to worry about it, but it seemed to be some form of scroll, and he threw it away as she asked about it. She remembered hearing the clatter as it ended up in the waste paper basket.

"Theo, check the garbage." She instructed. "He had a scroll last night, he threw it away. No-one's emptied the trash since then, I need to know what it says."

Theo pulled the scroll from the trash and read it. He froze as he realised what it meant.

"Theo, I need to know, what does it say?" Lily asked him. He showed the paper to Fran, hoping she would have some idea as to how to get him out of this uncomfortable situation.

"You're scaring me Theo." Lily told him as she held her knees to her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, tell me what it says."

"RJ's been challenged to a trial by combat." He explained in a defeated gasp. He didn't want to tell her, but he knew what it would likely mean if RJ lost his challenge. "It's forbidden for a master to become involved with one of his students."

"He's fighting for me?" Lily shrieked. "Casey, I need to know, what did he say to you?"

"He didn't say anything, he just went." Casey told her. Realising that despite RJ's insistence, now was the time to read his message, he pulled the envelope from his pocket. He read it in horror.

"Casey, you're scaring me." She announced. "What is it? I need to know, I need to know what's happening, please tell me, what is it?"

"He gave me this envelope before he left." He replied. "Inside is his last will and testament." He pulled Lily into his chest, hugging her warmly as she wept.

"I need to go there now!" She announced. "I need to stop him doing something stupid."

"Lily, maybe he didn't tell us for a reason." Casey suggested. "Perhaps we shouldn't."

"Take me there." Lily whimpered, no longer able to restrain the tears or the pain she felt at his enforced absence. "Someone take me there, I need to be with him!"

RJ was tossed to the ground yet again, feeling the warm trickle of blood leaking from his brow. He hauled himself to his feet as the masters looked on. Swoop's head was hung low in regret, whilst Phant observed the ritual with a sense of satisfaction.

"This can end any time you want it to son." Finn told him as he nursed his injured ribs. "This doesn't need to happen, it can all end now."

"Yes it does need to happen dad!" RJ replied. "I can't, I won't leave her!"

"You can give up." Finn stated. "She isn't worth it."

"She's everything to me!" RJ snarled, launching himself at his father.

The Rangers arrived a short time later, positioning themselves by the edge of the sparring area. RJ noticed them arriving, feeling his heart fall as he saw her. He had failed the one he loved. He couldn't win.

"This can end any time you want it to RJ." Swoop reminded him. "All you need to do is give up."

RJ felt his strength fail him as he fumbled around on the floor. Nothing could help him now, he was lost. Finn strode towards him purposefully, driving a foot into his head.

"Stop it!" Lily shrieked, hearing the horrific crunch of bone-on-bone contact. "I swear I'll stop seeing him! I swear that we'll end our relationship, but please don't hurt him anymore!"

RJ felt his heart shatter as she said this. He didn't care about losing the fight, all that mattered was her. Without her, it didn't matter if he won or not. He pulled himself to his knees and hung his head in submission.

"I submit." He announced. "It's over, finish me!"

"You know what this means." Finn declared, raising a panther fist in preparation for the coup de grace. "You know what the consequences are for losing."

"Without Lily I have nothing to live for." He explained, hanging his head in defeat. "Put me out of my misery, without her I'd rather be dead.."

Finn looked to the other two masters, noting their nods to confirm the assessment. He extended a hand to his son.

"Then the trial is truly over." He told his son. "You are free to do as you see fit."

RJ looked at his father in disbelief. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Do you really think this is the first time a master has fallen in love with a student?" Finn asked him. "Hell, that's how I met your mother."

"Mom was your student?" He enquired. Finn shook his head slowly.

"The exact opposite." He explained. "She went through the same thing."

"It's an occupational hazard falling in love with a student." Phant explained. "It has been since we stopped taking a vow of chastity. Hell, that's why I took the vow of chastity despite it not being a job requirement."

"You really mean we didn't have to do any of this?" RJ roared. "You really mean to tell me this was all pointless?"

"It wasn't pointless." Swoop told him. "It's one of the lesser-known duties of the masters, but it's a tradition that any master falling in love with a student must face this trial."

"Any relationship can be exploited." Phant stated. "So the mandate is that if a master falls in love with a student that the strength of that relationship will be tested."

RJ locked his hands around the elderly master's throat in anger. "You mean none of this was for real?"

"It was as real as it needed to be." Phant stated.

"But I was in a fight to the death with my own father!" He snarled.

"Finn would never have killed you." Phant told him with authority. "There are two indications of the relationship being solid enough for the elders to let it go."

"What are they?" Lily asked.

"Firstly, the master has to be willing to die for his student." Swoop interjected.

"What's the other?" Theo asked. Finn finally regained his composure after the epic battle with his son.

"The student must be willing to sacrifice the relationship for her lover's life." He explained.

"This scroll states that the elders trust you to make the decision for yourself whether or not the relationship continues!" Swoop announced, handing RJ another scroll. "I'm really sorry all this had to happen, I didn't want to go through with this ritual."

"I've had better days." Finn continued, still nursing his wounds. "But our foes are strong and cunning; we need to weed out any weakness they may exploit."

RJ refused his father's hand, taking Lily in his arms and turning his back on the masters. As much as this wasn't a real combat, it would be a long time before they could expect his forgiveness.


	17. Karma Chameleon

The next day, Lily woke up with a renewed sense of happiness. RJ had taken a hell of a beating at Master Finn's hands, but he still had the strength to see himself home after the master's test. She despised their cruel treatment of the man she loved, but she understood why they had done it. They'd forced them to face the prospect of living without each other, and she couldn't help but be scared by the thought. RJ had given her more than anyone in her life ever could. As much as she hated them for putting them through this torment, she couldn't help but be happy that it had happened. She now knew how deeply he felt for her. He was willing to lay down his life for her, and she would gladly do the same.

She made her way into the back room, hearing the television blaring. She smiled as she recognised the theme tune to his favourite cartoon. RJ was such a big kid, he always watched that show.

"Good afternoon." She greeted him. "How are you?"

"I'm still a bit sore." He told her. "Dad certainly didn't pull any punches with me."

Lily sat on his lap, curling comfortably into his arms. She was sure she'd lose him, but now he truly was hers. She steeled herself for what she was about to say next.

"RJ, if we're going to be together, you can't run off on your own like that." She chastised him. "I understand why you kept it from me, but I had a right to know."

"Lily, I'm sorry." He mumbled, kissing her neck gently. "I should have told you, but I wanted to protect you. You were so upset about the hospital appointment that I was sure you didn't need any more to worry about."

"RJ, this was about both of us." She reminded him. "I would have gone with you."

RJ felt guilty as he looked down at her. He had cut her out of the loop; he knew she had a right to be involved. He cursed the masters for their archaic ritual. Every inch of him hurt like hell, but feeling her in his arms, he couldn't be unhappy. "I'll tell you what, how about we promise full disclosure from now on?"

Lily shifted in his arms smiling as he squeezed her warmly. "That's a deal." She stated, kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replied. Fran barged into the room, finding them enjoying each other's embrace.

"That is so cute." She commented, seeing them together.

"I'm glad you approve." RJ responded as Lily disentangled herself from his arms. "We're happy."

"I'm sure you'll be really happy together." She replied. "You deserve each other."

"I'm just sorry you and Theo haven't had much of a chance to date." RJ said apologetically. "Things have been kind of crazy lately. I promise I'll let you get some time off soon."

"It's alright, I understand." She told him with a gentle wave. "With Lily out of action you've needed me at the restaurant, and it's not as if you can rely on the guys not to run off every time a monster attacks."

"Well trust me; I really appreciate everything you do around here." He replied.

Camille sat alone in the decrepit old manor house, her mind still mulling over everything that had happened to her over the last few days. Her last battle with the Rangers had cost her dearly. She still carried the scars of that battle. She cradled her left arm across her abdomen as she sat down, taking the weight off her feet. Her arm still felt unusually light without the weight of her restraining bracelet. It had saved her life when the bracelet took the brunt of the impact from the Claw Cannon, though it still pained her that it had been broken. With that bracelet on, everything just seemed so much more straightforward. She convinced herself that it was a gift, not restraint. It was a gesture of love, not a mark of ownership.

She recalled with regret the day he had placed the bracelet on her wrist. She was so sure he cared for her. It had never occurred to her that perhaps he had used her all along. She had turned her back on the Pai Zhuq temple for him all those years ago. After the murder of Master Ursa, she had no other option but to go with him. None of the others at the temple would have anything to do with her. By convincing her to harness the dark energies of the Chameleon spirit, he'd ensured that they would turn their backs on her, and after he'd killed Ursa, he'd successfully isolated her completely from her former friends and family.

She remembered how the Red Ranger had treated her on their date. He'd treated her so well; he treated her as well as Dai Shi had at first. There was no malice in his actions towards her. She felt truly good about just being her. Now she had no one. Dai Shi hadn't yet approached her. The overlords treated her with a mild neglect at best, so she had nothing to gain by looking to them for support.

She stroked her wrist gently where the bracelet had been. Perhaps Dai Shi would take her back. Perhaps if she begged him, pleaded with him he would forgive her for her failure and take her back. It pained her to be away from him. Her heart ached with the crushing loneliness of her current dilemma. She had nothing, she WAS nothing. Without him she was worth less than nothing. Flit burst forth from her mouth, hovering in front of her as she pondered her next move.

"Hey, what are you doing now?" He asked her. She sighed as she stroked her wrist.

"Maybe he can give me another one." She mused. "Maybe he will forgive me."

"You are joking aren't you?" Flit asked her as she contemplated her master. "You actually want to go back to him? I know you've never been the world's deepest thinker, but even you have to have some limits to your stupidity."

"You know, I can eat you." She reminded him. "Do not insult me."

"Camille, how long have we been together?" He asked her. "It hasn't always been a picnic being with you, but you have to admit, he doesn't treat you very well."

"I deserve it." She replied sadly, staring at her feet. "He deserves someone who can serve him faithfully. He's tolerated my bumbling for thousands of years."

"That isn't you talking." Flit shot back. "That's Dai Shi."

"He's my master." She continued. "I can't believe I ever doubted him, I need him."

"You are one seriously messed up woman, aren't you?" Flit asked her. "What makes you think you deserve to be treated that way? I wouldn't treat an animal the way he treats you."

"Shut your treacherous mouth." She snapped. "You shouldn't talk about the master that way."

"Why not?" Flit asked her. "You're only a traitor if you turn your back on someone who DESERVES your loyalty. He doesn't"

"But there's no one else." She muttered under her breath. "No one else will have me."

"So your brilliant idea is to go back to a guy who openly abuses you and makes you feel like crap because you're afraid of being alone." He stated in summary of her situation. "You really are as dumb as a bag of hammers."

The tears began to run freely down her face as Flit commented on her situation. "I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to hear it. Dai Shi's never cared about you, he found you when you were vulnerable and he preyed on that."

"No, he loved me." She stated. "He called me beautiful, he kissed me..."

"He told you what you wanted to hear and he showed you some tenderness." Flit explained. "Ursa was a complete ass to you, and that left you feeling low. Dai Shi made you feel special and because of that he could convince you to do pretty much anything he wanted."

"But he was so kind to me." She breathed. "He couldn't have acted all of it surely."

"He did defend you a couple of times over the years, but let's face it, he always got more out of the relationship than you did." He told her. "He may have some feelings for you, I really couldn't say, but staying with him isn't healthy. You deserve better."

"Thank you." She replied, wiping away her tears. "But I still don't have anywhere else to go."

"I wouldn't say you have nowhere to go." Flit suggested thoughtfully. "Who else has been kind to you recently?"

"Are you seriously suggesting I go to the Rangers?" She shrieked. "They'd destroy me!"

"Yeah, because the Rangers are so famous for ruthlessly destroying those who go to them for help." He replied sarcastically.

"Well they're not exactly going to welcome me with open arms now are they?" She shot back.

"Admittedly it'll take a while to earn their trust." He told her honestly. "You haven't exactly given them a lot of reasons to believe in you, but who do you really think is going to treat you better, the Rangers or Dai Shi?"

She couldn't argue with the fly's logic on that count, the Rangers had been nothing but kind to her when they didn't know who she was. RJ had given her a free meal and a shoulder to cry on when she was upset by Dai Shi's abuse. Casey had treated her well when he took her on their date, and he had released her from the torment of Dai Shi's restraint when he could have destroyed her. Even Lily had spared her when she could have punished her for taking RJ prisoner. She was in no condition to face her when she broke down in the kitchen of this self-same manor house she had taken to squatting in as she planned her next move. The decision was made. Getting up, she strode purposefully from the manor house in the direction of Jungle Karma Pizza.

Fran was finishing up with the last of the lunchtime rush as Camille arrived. She didn't bother with a disguise; she knew this was a job she would need to use her true form to accomplish. Theo arrived behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he saw her reaction. Camille held her hands up in submission.

"I didn't come to fight." She announced. "I came to ask for your help."

"You are joking right?" Theo asked her. "You've spent months trying to destroy us every other day. Now you're asking for help?"

"I can understand your suspicion." She responded, shifting nervously from foot to foot. This was not in the slightest a comfortable situation. "I assure you that I mean you no harm."

"You tortured me!" Fran shrieked, reminding her of the night that the Renshi Warriors had mistaken her for Lily. "My back still hurts!"

"I understand." She replied, summoning a whip to her hand. She turned around and bent over one of the tables. "You deserve your revenge."

"I don't want revenge!" Fran answered her, tossing the whip aside. "You really thought that I would want to hurt you?"

"Why did you do it?" Theo asked her. Camille searched her mind for the answer to that question. She hadn't really thought about it.

"I don't know." She replied. "I really don't."

"Dai Shi would have destroyed her; he had no use for her." Theo reminded her. He began to slowly circle her as she glared into her chest. "You saved her life."

"Dai Shi was going to dispose of her." Camille recalled. "I suggested we should use her to send a message to the Yellow Ranger."

"So you beat me as a way of getting me out of there safely!" Fran yelled. She suddenly felt a swell of pity for the woman who had tortured her at Dai Shi's request.

"I couldn't think of a way to get him to just release you unharmed." She continued. "I know it won't mean a hell of a lot, but believe me, if I could take it back I would. I'm sorry."

Casey came through from the back, finding to his surprise that Camille was standing in the middle of the restaurant.

"What's going on?" He asked. Camille couldn't look at him. All she could think about as she looked at him was the night of the date. Her face turned pink as she recalled the kiss.

"I came here to submit and ask for your help." She told him. "I have nowhere else to go. You can imprison me if you must, but I need somewhere to stay."

Casey tried to assess her sincerity. He didn't have any idea whether or not she was genuine, but she didn't seem to be making any moves. "I released you from the bracelet." He told her. "Why are you so desperate to become a prisoner again?"

"I don't know." She replied. "It's been so long since anyone's been nice to me that I don't know how to be anything but a prisoner."

"We won't let you starve." Casey told her. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I've been staying at the old manor house." She responded. "I can continue to stay there."

Casey looked at her thoughtfully for a while. She seemed to be on the level, but he couldn't risk letting her stay at Jungle Karma. That would just be foolish; he needed to give her an opportunity to prove herself.

"We won't come after you." He informed her. "If you're serious about switching sides, the opportunity to prove yourself will present itself shortly. Don't make me regret this decision."

"I won't." She replied. "Thank you."

"Do you really think you can oppose Dai Shi?" Theo asked her. Camille searched her mind for an answer.

"I can't help the feelings I have for him, I can't, and I won't stand against him." She looked into the Blue Ranger's eyes. "But I won't stand against you either."

"That's good enough for me." Casey stated with authority. "I guess it's a start. Maybe someday you can get over him completely."

Camille left the restaurant with a renewed sense of hope. She now knew that the Rangers would leave her be, she now only needed to stay away from the man she had loved for thousands of years. She knew him better than anyone and knew it was unlikely he would let her go so easily. She knew that sooner or later he would come for her. What worried her more than anything though wasn't the fact that he would come to reclaim her.

It was the fact that there was a part of her that almost wanted him to come. As much as she knew he was no good for her and that he would only hurt her again, she still loved him.


	18. The Appointment

The next day, there wasn't any of the usual hubbub as Theo and Casey set up the restaurant. RJ hadn't said a word all morning, not that anyone could blame him. They both understood his concern; his thoughts were once again with a certain blonde that he'd allowed to have a long lie on this particular day. He only wanted to concentrate on Lily today, he was sure she'd need him one way or another.

"Are you guys sure you'll be alright by yourselves?" RJ asked them for what seemed like the millionth time. He was understandably going with Lily, and understanding that although she was faring better that Fran still felt a bit guilty about what happened, he'd figured she'd be no use to the guys anyway and agreed to let her stay home today. Casey just nodded and went back to what he was doing. Theo came over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tell Lily we're thinking about her." Theo instructed him. "We'll all be here when she gets back."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that." RJ replied softly, pulling some toast from the grill. He wanted her to keep her strength up, but he was also aware that she would be unlikely to be able to face a large breakfast. She'd been very quiet the previous evening, so he knew she was understandably worried about the outcome of her appointment. Taking the plate he headed upstairs into the back room. Stopping just outside her bedroom door, he breathed a sigh and meditated for a second. As much as he was nervous about the outcome himself, he knew that she needed him to be strong for her. Getting worried himself would not help anyone.

Making his way inside, he found her dressed and sitting on the edge of her bed, holding the leather-bound book to her chest for comfort. He'd wanted her to get a long lie, but for obvious reasons sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. If she'd gotten a couple of hours that was all. She had finally given up on sleeping a few hours ago and just gotten dressed. There was no point in just lying there any longer. Hearing RJ come in, she turned towards him.

"What time is it?" She asked him.

"It's 10 am." He told her. "How did you sleep?"

She shook her head gently. "I got a couple of hours tops." She replied.

RJ sat on the bed beside her and held her closely. "I've brought you something to eat." He told her, kissing her cheek. "It's almost time to go."

Lily pushed the plate away a little. RJ took her hand in his, lacing his fingers with hers. He gently squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm here." He reminded her. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lily smiled as he said this, pulling closer into him. RJ cradled her head into his chest. She felt her heartbeat settle down a little as he held her in his arms. She needed him with her. In his arms, she wasn't scared about the outcome of her appointment. While he was there, it didn't matter what else happened. She felt like she was the only thing that mattered, and to him, she was.

Camille woke up in the old manor house, stretching herself awake and wiping the sand from her eyes. It still pained her to be by herself, she could still feel the pain of Dai Shi's absence in her heart. As much as she was slowly coming around to the idea that he had used her, and that he didn't care for her as she did for him, but that didn't stop her feeling for him. She longed to return to him.

She knew that she had to leave him. His cruelty and his disdain had reached all new levels with her in the most recent weeks. She was always used to the fact that he wasn't especially affectionate, she'd gotten used to the neglect over the years. She'd even started to become used to the physical cruelty. What hurt more than anything was the way he made her feel about herself. She felt completely useless around him. His constant stream of abuse and humiliation had left her with no self-confidence. It was only recently she'd begun to feel like she actually deserved to be treated with any level of respect.

She still couldn't believe that the first people to treat her with kindness had been her long-time enemies. The Rangers had released her from Dai Shi's grasp, and more than that, they were willing to help her out. She made her way into the kitchen, finding the groceries that they had left her to feed herself. She'd done nothing for them, and yet they were willing to look after her in her time of need. Even their friend, the one she'd tortured at Dai Shi's request seemed to be willing to set aside their differences. She thought about the Rangers and how she could repay them. Thinking for a while, she concentrated hard, morphing herself into a JKP uniform. She still couldn't face the thought of facing off against Dai Shi, but if she couldn't fight alongside them, then surely at least she could at least help out in the restaurant. After all how hard could it be?

Lily sat in the waiting room of the hospital, gently stroking her book with the tips of her fingers as she waited for her appointment. RJ had gone to find them some coffee, promising to return quickly. He sat down beside her, nudging the cup against her hand. Feeling it against her hand, she reached out, taking it from him.

"Milk and two isn't it?" He asked her. Lily nodded to confirm her order, taking a sip with a slight grimace. RJ noted the expression.

"I'm sorry; I only got it from the vending machine down the hall." He explained, putting his arm around her, gently squeezing her. "I promise I'll get you a proper cup later."

"The coffee's fine RJ, I didn't even really want one." She replied in a gentle whisper. A few tears began to leak slowly down her face. "What's taking them so damn long? Do they not know how long I've waited for this appointment?"

"They'll see you as soon as possible." He reminded her. "I know how anxious you are about this, getting yourself upset isn't going to get you into the examination room any faster."

Casey and Theo were running around like maniacs as the lunchtime rush hit them. RJ's fears had indeed been well founded. The two of them were barely coping as the customers harried them for their orders. Letting Fran have the day off was clearly a bad idea, not least because of how busy it was in the restaurant. If Dai Shi decided to try anything, then they'd have to close the restaurant, and that would make RJ far from happy.

"Man, we are getting totally swamped!" Casey moaned as he came back into the kitchen, where Theo was struggling with orders. "Remind me never to say anything bad about Fran again."

"Look, we can only do what we can do." Theo grumbled. "There are only two of us. Now, just get back onto the floor and deal with some customers."

Casey groaned and headed back out to the front of the restaurant. He moved over to one of the tables.

"I'm sorry it's taken so long, can I get your order?" He asked.

"The other waitress already took it." The man replied. Casey looked a little confused, but looked around, seeing a waitress in a JKP uniform taking down orders. He moved over to her.

"I appreciate the help, but who are you?" He asked.

"I just wanted to help out." Camille replied, handing him the orders from her check pad. "You've already done so much for me."

She held up her left wrist, showing him the bandage around her injured wrist. Casey smiled as he realised that it was Camille.

"We can't afford to pay you." He told her. "My salary already subsidises Fran's."

"I don't want money." She answered with a small smile. "You've already done more than enough for me."

Back at the hospital, Lily had finally been called through to the examination room. RJ led her over to the gurney and helped her onto it. The doctor came over to her, touching her arm to let her know where he was.

"Lily, how are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I'm feeling a bit nervous." She answered honestly. She'd tortured herself with the thought of this moment for so long, she couldn't believe it had finally come. Holding her book tightly, she squeezed RJ's hand for support.

"Now Lily, this will be disorientating." The doctor explained. "Your eyes will be dry, so when I take off the dressing, don't try to focus, I want you to tilt your head back while I apply some eye drops. Do you understand?"

Lily nodded to indicate she understood the instruction. The doctor picked up a pair of scissors, coming over to her side.

"Your eyes will be unaccustomed to light, so don't be worried if it takes a while to focus." He warned her. "We'll run the tests shortly."

Lily felt the cold metal of the scissors gently graze the side of her head as the doctor gently cut through the bandage.

"Now remember Lily, don't try to focus, just tilt your head back." He told her. Feeling the doctor gently cradle her chin and lift her head to the ceiling, he placed some cold drops into her eyes.

"I want you to blink a few times before tilting your head forward." He continued. Lily still couldn't focus properly; the light assaulted her eyes as she continued to blink the moisture back into her eyes. She brought her head back down, looking straight ahead. The light realigned itself, and slowly things started to make more sense. She closed her eyes and dared to hope, the beating of her heart growing faster with a mixture of excitement and fear. Feeling RJ's hand in her own, she turned to him, opening her eyes once more.

A little hazy at first, her vision slowly returned to focus as she looked at the man she loved. It was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.

"Talk to me Lily." RJ implored her. "What can you see?"

Lily smiled as tears of joy poured down her face. "I'm so happy the first thing I saw was you." She answered, pulling him in towards her, kissing him passionately. The doctor took a pen torch from his coat and shone it into her eyes, inspecting them carefully. He smiled warmly as he noted her pupils reacting normally. He'd need a few more tests to confirm it, but it appeared as though her vision had returned.

"It looks like you've been an incredibly lucky young woman." He commented. "I'll need to run a few more tests, but it seems that the damage wasn't permanent. Your friends took very good care of you, you should be grateful."

RJ took her into his arms, holding her warmly. His heart soared to see her smiling again. She'd been through so much that she was due some happiness. She deserved to be happy, and RJ was going to do everything in his power to make that happen. He loved her more than he could say.

Fin.

A/N: I'm glad everyone enjoyed this story so much. I have to admit I was more than a little nervous when I started this, as I had only seen four episodes of JF when I started this fic, but it has ended up being my most reviewed work. Thank you to everyone who sent reviews, they were always appreciated.

Several of you also sent me rather helpful PMs, for which I am grateful. I've recently caught up with the JF episodes, but early on it was hard to find episodes, so thanks to everyone who provided helpful pointers early on.

Also, to those who sent me messages of support during my recent personal situation, a big heartfelt thank you. They were all really appreciated, and the support was really important to me. Thank you.

I'll probably drop back in on the JF team when I get a decent plot bunny. If nothing else, I suppose it would be good to see what happens to Camille.


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